London Olympic organisers have announced BMW be the exclusive automotive sponsor of the 2012 games. The company will supply 4,000 low-carbon vehicles, including electric cars, motorcycles and bicycles.
The move also means BMW is a sustainability partner, supporting London 2012's commitment to deliver a low-carbon and healthy-living games.
The German carmaker has recently won awards for its work on sustainability, and in cutting average CO2 from its products through the EfficientDynamics programme. It was recently named most sustainable automotive company in the Dow Jones sustainability index for the fifth year in a row and picked up two honours in What Car?'s green car awards, for the Mini Cooper S and BMW 318d Saloon in sports and executive categories.
BMW is already conducting trials of electric Minis and plans are afoot for an electric version of the C1 motorcycle, a commercial failure but still a familiar sight on London streets. Critics, however, may point to models like the X5, X6 and M5 and the fact that, despite improvements, BMW still lies 21st in the league of average CO2 at 154.6 g/km according to latest Clean Green Cars figures.
Cars supplied by the company will have to meet an average CO2 of 120g/km, according to the qualifying criteria of London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).
source: verdictoncars
