BMW's technology play

Dr. Herbert Diess, BMW's board member in charge of development, talks about where his company is placing its technology bets, the challenge of meeting the 95-g CO₂ regulation in 2020, and the growing role of female engineers at BMW.

For an automaker with just 2% global market share, BMW punches well beyond its weight class, to use the appropriate boxing metaphor. Long respected as an industry benchmark in vehicle dynamics, body structure, engine performance, and overall brand equity, the company is moving confidently into new areas including its first front-wheel-drive cars; volume production of carbon-fiber body architectures; range-extender plug-in hybrids; CNG-powered vehicles; and hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles, among other technologies.

Despite its stellar reputation on the road and racetrack, BMW cannot tackle it all alone, noted Dr. Herbert Diess, the Member of the Board of Management in charge of product development. “Because we're a relatively small player we have to look for partnerships to get the economies of scale,” Dr. Diess told AEI in a recent interview. “Most of these we get through our supplier network we share with Daimler, Audi, VW, and some Japanese companies.”