Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, commonly referred to as BMW, is a German multinational corporate manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.
“The market economy works best when you have clear and [the] same rules for all market participants, a level playing field,” Ola Kallenius, chief executive of Daimler, told the Financial Times.
German electric-vehicle subsidies are available to all buyers regardless of where the cars are made. Kallenius urged the US to follow suit and “let the market decide”.
The German car lobby, the VDA, has also criticised the plans.
“Unilaterally designed funding criteria contradict transatlantic co-operation, which we would do better to intensify rather than slow down,” said VDA president Hildegard Müller. “We now need joint co-ordinated efforts to achieve climate goals. New trade conflicts must be avoided.”
German manufacturers produced more than 742,000 cars in the US last year, according to the VDA, and employed more than 60,000 people. Volkswagen’s Audi and VW brands are among the top sellers of plug-in hybrid and pure electric cars in the country, as is BMW.
However, Audi does not have a US plant, while neither VW and BMW’s factories nor Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz plants are unionised.
The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) – the consumer protection institute specializing in automotive safety – awarded the BMW iX the highest possible rating of five stars in the Euro NCAP safety assessment. During the course of the test program, which was further intensified in 2020, the BMW Group’s new technology flagship impressed with both its outstanding occupant protection and its advanced driver assistance systems, which are particularly effective in helping to prevent accidents.
The BMW iX achieved five-star ratings in all test categories of the Euro NCAP crash test. In the assessment of adult occupant protection, the testers highlighted among other features the effectiveness of the new interactive airbag between the driver and front passenger seats, which provides additional protection against injury in the event of a side collision. Child safety in the rear of the BMW iX was also given the highest possible score for both frontal and side collisions.
Among other features, the BMW iX has a front collision warning system with brake intervention that can detect pedestrians and cyclists as well as vehicles. In addition, the automatic emergency braking system now also reacts in turning situations, helping to minimise the risk to pedestrians when turning and the risk of collision with oncoming traffic when turning left.
Other standard features of the BMW iX include an attention assistant, lane departure warning and speed limit recognition, all of which scored positively in the Euro NCAP crash test. The Driving Assistant Professional package is offered as an option, which also includes steering and lane guidance assistance. In a separate assessment, BMW’s Driving Assistant Professional in the iX3 was also recently awarded the top rating of “very good” by Euro NCAP.
