The aim of developing the BMW i cars is not simply to build emission-free cars, but also to use the maximum possible amount of sustainably produced and recycled materials - especially inside. The interior of the BMW i3 sets a new standard here and makes sustainability tangible.

Another milestone is the completely innovative LifeDrive car architecture, with its carbon passenger cell and aluminium drive module that reduce its weight enormously and extend the car's range.

The BMW Group has topped the Dow Jones Sustainability Index every year since 2005 as the world's most sustainable automobile manufacturer. Rather than become complacent, we were motivated to create new standards: the energy-intensive carbon fibre manufacturing process was set up in Moses Lake, USA, because it can be operated there using clean energy from one of the world's largest hydroelectric power plants - the Grand Coulee Dam. The BMW i plant in Leipzig is also fully powered using electricity from 4 wind turbines installed specifically for that purpose on the plant premises. In addition, the energy consumption required to produce the cars in the Leipzig plant was reduced by 50 % and water consumption by as much as 70 %.*

*compared to the industry-leading BMW Standard.

In order for these electric cars to be both extremely agile and remarkably efficient, an intelligent cooling system keeps the battery at its optimal operating temperature at all times. BMW i drivers can also activate exceptionally economical driving modes at the push of a button which extend the range by around 30 % to almost 200 km.*

Consistent sustainability means that even CO2 emissions generated outside the car are reduced or avoided. This is why BMW i is working with sustainable partners including renewable energy producers to make electricity from renewable sources easily accessible to BMW i drivers.

*depending on individual driving behaviour, calculated in an internal BMW power consumption study.

How can electric components be recycled most efficiently? By reusing them. There are many ways to repurpose the high-performance lithium-ion high-voltage battery from a BMW i after its use in a car: easily and effectively as an intermediate power store in solar or wind power systems, for example.

BMW i is also a pioneer in the processing of carbon fibres and their recycling. To the BMW Group, remnants from carbon production and the production of carbon components are valuable materials that are either channelled back into the production process or reused in other areas.

But even that was not enough for us, so 95 % of the materials used to produce a BMW i3 can be recycled.