Climate Lobbying Overview: BMW appears to have active and mostly negative engagement on climate regulation in 2021-22. While the company has increasingly positive top-line statements on climate since 2021, it appears to have consistently opposed policies to phase out ICE-powered vehicles in the EU and UK, including opposing a 2035 zero-emissions CO2 target for cars and vans in the EU, and a UK ZEV mandate.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: BMW appears to support the goals of the Paris Agreement, for example in its 2022 Climate Engagement Report. Similarly, in its 2021 Integrated Report, published in March 2022, BMW appeared to advocate for a zero-emissions or climate neutral economy by 2050. The company expressed support for GHG emissions reductions in line with a 1.5°C target in a November 2021 EU consultation response, and BMW CEO, Oliver Zipse, seemed supportive of the EU's Green Deal and 2050 targets in a June 2022 ACEA press release.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: In March 2022, BMW's CEO, Oliver Zipse, publicly urged policymakers to delay setting the EU's proposed 2035 zero-emissions CO2 target until "2040 at the earliest”. Similarly, in May 2022, while France held the EU’s rotating Council presidency, Politico Pro reported that Zipse wrote a letter to French President Macron, urging him to delay introducing a zero-emissions CO2 target for vehicles until 2040, and calling for the final decision to be delayed until 2028. In June 2022, he publicly opposed the European Parliament’s plenary vote in favour of the 2035 target in an ACEA press release. This follows Zipse’s initial July 2021 response to the CO2 targets in the EU’s Fit for 55 package, in which he argued that “without significantly increased efforts by all stakeholders … the proposed target is simply not viable”.

In the US, in an August 2021 joint statement, BMW advocated for federal US GHG emissions standards for vehicles, and appeared to support California's GHG emissions standards in its 2021 Integrated Report, published in March 2022. The company also appeared to advocate for the US Environmental Protecion Agency (EPA)'s decision to restore California's ability to set its own, stricter GHG emissions standards independent of federal standards under the Clean Air Act, according to a June 2022 Reuters news article.

In New Zealand, however, a November 2021 consultation response indicated that BMW strongly opposed higher proposed CO2 targets for light-duty vehicles included in New Zealand's Clean Car Bill, arguing that the Bill is too aggressive and calling for 2025 and 2027 targets to be pushed back.

Additionally, in a November 2021 EU consultation response on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), BMW appeared to support the policy with major exceptions, including that existing carbon leakage protection measures were continued under the EU ETS until 2035.

Positioning on Energy Transition: BMW appears to oppose ICE vehicle phase-out policies in multiple regions, while supporting policies promoting charging infrastructure expansion. In a June 2021 ACEA press release, BMW’s CEO, Oliver Zipse, asserted that “Europe should not be driven by a culture of bans and restrictions”, appearing to oppose an EU ICE phase-out, and instead supporting a “technology-neutral” approach over the complete electrification of light-duty vehicles. Moreover, in a February 2022 speech given in the German parliament, Zipse directly advocated to policymakers to oppose vehicle ICE phase-out policies in both Europe and Germany. In May 2022, Politico reported that while France held the EU’s rotating Council presidency, BMW's CEO wrote a letter to French President Macron advocating for the proposed 2035 ICE phase-out in the EU to be delayed until 2040. In June 2022, Zipse publicly opposed the European Parliament’s plenary vote in favour of an effective 2035 ban in an ACEA press release.

Elsewhere, a September 2021 UK consultation response urged the UK government to include hybrid sales between 2030-35 as part of its ICE phase-out, as well as opposing both a UK ICE phase out for motorcycles, and a UK ZEV mandate. In an October 2022 Car Dealer Magazine article, BMW CEO, Oliver Zipse, directly opposed the UK's planned 2030 ICE vehicle phase-out date, warning politicians that suppliers will leave the country if it goes ahead. According to a November 2021 CNN media report, BMW did not sign a global pledge made at COP26 to phase out ICE-powered vehicles in leading markets by 2035 and globally by 2040, due to "considerable uncertainty" about how a complete global shift to zero-emission vehicles would be supported. A November 2021 Dezeen article reported that BMW’s head of sustainability strategy blamed the lack of "framework conditions" in less developed parts of the world for its reluctance to replace fossil-fuel cars with electric vehicles, while BMW CEO, Oliver Zipse was critical of the zero-emissions pledge in a November 2021 Handlesblatt interview, arguing that "we believe this is harmful to the climate". Furthermore, in a November 2021 New Zealand consultation response, BMW appeared to promote a long-term role for ICE and hybrid vehicles in New Zealand. In a May 2022 US consultation response, the company took an unclear position on California's Advanced Clean Cars II regulation, which would require an increasing percentage of new light-duty EV sales each year until a 100% ZEV mandate in 2035, while proposing numerous flexibilities to reduce the stringency of the policy.

According to its 2022 Climate Engagement Report, BMW supports higher EV infrastructure charging targets in the EU. In a February 2021 consultation response, BMW called for an additional 1,000 fast charging points in Germany by 2030, emphasizing the need for a law to be passed as quickly as possible. In April 2022, BMW signed an open letter advocating for higher ambition for hydrogen infrastructure in the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) to aid the decarbonization of transportation in Europe. While BMW CEO, Oliver Zipse, has expressed support for more ambitious EU EV infrastructure targets in a March 2021 Op-ed and a December 2021 ACEA press release, his views on the energy transition seem to be somewhat mixed. For example, Zipse has advocated for hybrids, hydrogen-powered vehicles and e-fuels over the full-scale electrification of transportation, according to a June 2021 Auto Zeitung media report.

Industry Association Governance: BMW discloses its membership of key industry associations in its 2022 ‘Climate Policy’ Report, first published in May 2022, which includes the industry associations’ climate policy positions and BMW's alignment and influence around this. BMW CEO, Oliver Zipse, is on the board of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), which has mixed to negative engagement with EU climate regulations for road transport. 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 appear to have negative engagement on EU and German climate policy. BMW retains memberships to a number of other oppositional groups, including the US-based Alliance for Automotive Innovation, EU-focused Business Europe, and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). It is also a member of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), which has engaged negatively with Australian climate policy for light-duty vehicles.

A detailed assessment of the company's corporate review on 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 Q1 2023.