BMW Group Awarded by The German Ministry of Economics and Technology

The German Ministry of Economics and Technology awarded BMW Group in the 2009 Best Innovator competition, with the special award for “Sustainable Innovation Management”. This was the sixth edition of the competition.

BMW Group was recognized for its devotion to reducing fuel consumption through innovations in engines and transmissions, Brake Energy Regeneration, Auto Start/Stop and the successful trial fleet of MINI E electric cars.

“Our products stand for innovation. But our focus is on innovations that offer the customer – and the public at large – a clearly recognizable benefit. We are very proud to play a leading role in the campaign to reduce fuel consumption. In the last two years alone we achieved bigger cuts in vehicle fuel consumption than any other European car manufacturer. With a fleet value for Germany of 156 g/km in 2009, we even undercut volume producers in terms of absolute figures.” said Dr Christoph Grote, Head of Strategy and Innovations Total Vehicle at the BMW Group, as he accepted the award in Berlin.

“Sustainability isn’t a buzzword for the BMW Group but is deeply anchored in the corporate strategy, and therefore its innovation strategy. We did not achieve our positive results in reducing fuel consumption through short-term, isolated actions, but on the basis of an early and enduring commitment to the issue of sustainability,” added Grote.

The core jury of the 2009 “Best Innovator” competition was comprised of Dagmar Wöhrl, former Parliamentary Secretary of State in the German Minister of Economics and Technology, Hans-Jörg Bullinger, President of the Fraunhofer Institute, Roland Tichy, editor of WirtschaftsWoche, and Kai Engel, partner at A.T. Kearney.

This was BMW Group’s second award, which was also voted “Best Innovator” in 2004.