BMW executive says motorists should stop buying new cars

A high-ranking BMW executive has encouraged motorists to spend their money on rejuvenating used cars instead of purchasing new vehicles.

A top level BMW executive says motorists should spend their money to keep old cars on the road, rather than replacing them with new vehicles – effectively undermining the German auto giant’s business model, and against the advice of road safety experts.

Although newer cars save lives and are more energy-efficient than older models, Monika Dernai, the head of BMW’s sustainability team, encouraged consumers to reuse and recycle products as long as possible to minimise waste. 

As reported by UK publication Auto Express, Ms Dernai told attendees at a business conference in London the future used-car market should adapt to encourage motorists to invest in their existing cars through upgrades to items such as interiors, instead of trading their vehicles for newer models.

“We really need to think about prolonging the life of cars; not having a used-car market where you sell cars to each other, but maybe take a car and extend its lifespan,” Ms Dernai said, according to Auto Express. “The idea could be that you could freshen up the interior.”

“We need new skill sets in the aftermarket and to design cars so that the seat can be removed and a fresh seat can be moved in – then it’s a used car that looks like a new car. 

“It can have the same owner, who then doesn’t buy a new car, but we still have a business model as BMW and the whole of society benefits from that.”

Ms Dernai didn’t detail what interior upgrades would be required to keep a car up to date, nor how much motorists would need to spend before the economic and environmental benefits of buying new outweighed upgrading older vehicles.

BMW has recently launched its iDrive 8 in-car computer system which can receive over-the-air updates – allowing the software to stay up-to-date without any physical input – although this covers just one aspect of a car’s functions.

The BMW executive also did not mention when it would be more efficient and better for the environment to upgrade to a new car – which produces less emissions – rather than spending money updating older vehicles.

BMW has not said just how old a car should be before its owners consider replacing it with a new vehicle

Ms Dernai added there will always be a demand for new cars and private transport, given the spread of populations outside of cities and urban areas.

“Can we actually just move everybody to public transport? I think the answer is no,” Ms Dernai said. “You’re worried about the public transport in the UK, but if you look at the US it’s even more desolate. So I think there’s still a market for cars out there.”

According to a 2020 report by the Australian Government’s Climate Change Authority, transport accounted for 17 per cent of the country’s emissions. 

Cars alone contribute to 47 per cent of the transport figure – or less than eight per cent of overall emissions – while trucks and buses account for 21 per cent of Australia’s transport emissions.

In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency says 27 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions comes from the transport sector, with 57 per cent attributed to light duty vehicles such as cars.

The European Union has previously announced the production and sale of petrol and diesel engines will be banned by 2035, forcing BMW and other car-makers on the continent to invest in zero-emission vehicles.

As reported in September, Oliver Zipse has been critical of the proposed regulations, saying motorists need to be given a choice about what powers their cars.

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