Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Lobbying Overview: BMW exhibits both positive and negative engagement with science-aligned climate policy in the EU, UK and US in 2023-25. BMW is strategically engaged and while it demonstrated positive top-line positions, it opposed policies to phase out ICE-powered vehicles in the EU and UK and advocated to weaken US federal greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards for light-duty vehicles.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: BMW supported the goals of the Paris Agreement on its corporate website, accessed in May 2025, and supported the EU’s 2050 net-zero goal in its 2024 Group Report, published in March 2025. In the same report, BMW supported regulation in response to climate change. However, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse appeared unsupportive of stringent climate regulations in a February 2025 meeting with the European Commission.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: BMW has repeatedly criticized CO2 standards for cars and vans in the EU in 2023-25. The company’s CEO, Oliver Zipse, emphasized the challenges associated with meeting the 2025 EU CO2 target in a March 2024 Automotive News article. BMW also called for a review and adjustment of the 2035 100% reduction target in a June 2024 German lobbying disclosure. Zipse further opposed the 2035 target in an October 2024 Guardian article and appeared to advocate for flexibilities for e-fuels, ethanol and hydrotreated vegetable oil under the standards in a November 2024 statement. BMW welcomed flexibilities to the standards in a March 2025 meeting with the European Commission. Additionally, in a June 2025 German lobbying disclosure, the company advocated for a weakening of the standards through exemptions for 'climate-friendly fuels' and a 'market-oriented' approach.
However, BMW advocated for ambitious CO2 reduction targets for Germany under the EU's Renewable Energy Directive in a June 2024 German lobbying disclosure. The company also supported the maintenance of the EU’s 2025 CO2 standard for light-duty vehicles in a January 2025 meeting with the European Commission.
In the US, in a July 2023 consultation response, BMW appeared unsupportive of proposed 2027 light- and medium-duty GHG emission standards, advocating to maintain credit programs that may reduce the stringency of the standards. In October 2023 US federal regulatory comments, BMW also advocated to reduce the stringency of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and to maintain flexibilities like off-cycle credits that further weaken the program.
In March 2024 regulatory comments, BMW advocated to delay the adoption of Australia’s proposed New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) until 2026, while generally supporting the regulation.
Positioning on Energy Transition: BMW was unsupportive of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle phase-out policies in multiple regions. For example, in an October 2024 Reuters article and July 2025 Die Welt article, BMW Group’s CEO, Oliver Zipse opposed the EU’s 2035 ICE phase-out target, advocating instead for technology-neutral policy. In addition, the company directly advocated for a role for ‘carbon neutral’ fuels beyond 2035 over complete electrification in a March 2025 meeting with the European Commission. BMW also appeared to advocate to delay the UK's ICE phase-out date from 2030 to 2035 in a September 2023 UK consultation response.
In the EU, in a June 2024 Lobbying Disclosure, BMW supported the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation. Additionally, the company supported mandatory zero-emission vehicle targets for some corporate fleets, while opposing them for others in a July 2024 consultation response to the Greening Corporate Fleets Initiative.
In the US, BMW supported electric vehicle incentives such as Section 30D tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act in its May 2024 Climate Engagement Report. BMW also supported incorporating electric vehicles under the US Renewable Fuels Standard in February 2023 regulatory comments.
Industry Association Governance: BMW provided a partial account of its industry associations' positions and engagement activities on climate policies in its industry association review, published in May 2025. BMW CEO, Oliver Zipse, is on the board of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), which has both positive and negative engagement with climate policy. Zipse also chairs the 'CFO Platform' Working Group of the European Roundtable of Industrialists, which is partially aligned with policy pathways aiming to deliver the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. Zipse also sits on the managing board of the German Automotive Association (VDA) and the presidential board of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), both of which have mostly negative engagement on climate policy. BMW also has senior executives on the board of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation which has mostly negative engagement on climate policy, and the Brazilian Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers (ANFAVEA) which has both positive and negative engagement with climate policy.
A detailed assessment of the company's review of its climate policy engagement can be found on InfluenceMap's CA100+ Investor Hub here.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 2025.