BMW’s China operations drive major boost in mid-term decarbonisation plan

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1. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202512/08/WS69369a7da310d6866eb2d7b2.html – Please view link – unable to able to access data
2. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/bmw-sets-new-mid-term-climate-goal-2025-12-02/ – BMW has announced a new mid-term climate goal, aiming to cut CO2 equivalent emissions by at least 60 million metric tons by 2035 from 2019 levels. This target represents an additional reduction of approximately 20 million tons beyond its previously established 2030 goal. The commitment applies to all drive variants and encompasses the vehicle’s entire life cycle, including design, raw material sourcing, production, and usage. As part of its strategy, BMW plans to enhance the use of renewable energy throughout its production processes and supply chain, and to expand the share of electrified vehicles in its fleet. This new milestone is part of BMW’s overarching climate commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
3. https://www.shenyang.gov.cn/english/business/202211/t20221102_4326202.html – Since 2019, BMW’s Shenyang Production Base has achieved 100% renewable electricity for power supply in production, contributing to the group-level carbon reduction target in 2030. At present, there are 290,000 square meters of solar panels at BMW Shenyang Production Base. By the end of this year, these solar panels will reach the capacity to generate 60,000 MWh and save around 45,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually. In addition, BBA participated in the ‘National Green Power Transaction’ pilot scheme and completed a green power transaction volume of 2.78 billion kWh, which ranked first nationwide. These measures will fulfill nearly all of the renewable electricity needs at Shenyang Production Base until 2025. In addition, the BMW Group actively promotes the circular economy and the utilization of secondary materials, so that key resources and materials can be recycled and reused in a circular and closed-loop economy. BMW Shenyang Production Base has already realized circular in multiple dimensions in the production process, such as water management and waste management, forming its own Mobius band.
4. https://www.shenyang.gov.cn/english/business/202507/t20250726_4881996.html – BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. (BBA) and China Datang Corporation Ltd. have established a renewable power joint venture to develop 1,000 MW onshore wind power projects. This partnership makes BBA China’s first automaker to establish a renewable power joint venture, marking another innovative step towards zero carbon. The joint venture will serve as a renewable-energy platform, leveraging green-electricity trading mechanisms to secure a long-term, fully traceable supply of high-quality renewable power for BMW’s Shenyang Production Base—accelerating the Group’s Scope 1-3 decarbonization goals and embedding sustainability into the locally built NEUE KLASSE models set to launch in 2026. Upon completion, the new wind power projects will become a crucial addition to BBA’s energy mix, complementing existing solar PV and the upcoming deep geothermal heating system to form a comprehensive, multidimensional clean-energy solution for production operations.
5. https://govt.chinadaily.com.cn/s/202410/22/WS67170ea7498eec7e1f7255ce/bmw-brilliance-kicks-off-geothermal-energy-project-in-chinas-shenyang.html – BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. (BBA) has initiated a geothermal energy project in Shenyang, China, aiming to achieve 100% non-fossil energy heating for its factories. The project involves drilling 28 medium-deep geothermal wells, which will provide a total heating area of approximately 580,000 square meters by the 2025 heating season. The geothermal energy will be mainly used to supply winter heating in the factory and the company’s assembly plant. The project is expected to achieve an annual carbon emission reduction of 18,000 tons. BMW has been increasing its investment in Shenyang in recent years, including the construction of a new battery production plant with a total investment of 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion).
6. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202512/08/WS69369a7da310d6866eb2d7b2.html – BMW AG is pledging to cut at least 60 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2035 compared with 2019 levels, with its operations in China expected to play an important role in meeting the goal. The updated goal marks a new waypoint in BMW’s roadmap to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The company already aims to trim lifecycle emissions by at least 40 million tons by 2030, and now expects to halve emissions per euro of revenue by 2035. BMW said it will rely on a full-lifecycle decarbonization strategy spanning raw-material sourcing, manufacturing, vehicle use and end-of-life recycling. That includes expanding renewable-energy adoption across production and supply chains, increasing recycled-material content in high-emissions components such as batteries and aluminum, and pushing efficiency gains across all drivetrain types, including its expanding portfolio of electrified vehicles. China — BMW’s largest single market and home to one of its most advanced manufacturing clusters — plays an outsized role in delivering these cuts. BMW’s Shenyang manufacturing hub in Northeast China’s Liaoning province has become a cornerstone of the company’s global sustainability efforts. The site has operated entirely on renewable electricity since 2019 and has been named a national-level ‘Green Factory’ for nine consecutive years. In 2024, its self-built solar capacity generated 91.86 GWh of renewable power — enough to supply roughly 30,000 households for a year. A new mid-depth geothermal heating project, tapping energy 2,900 meters underground, is expected to reduce annual emissions by about 18,000 tons. BMW is also mobilizing China-based suppliers as part of its decarbonization push. About 200 core Chinese suppliers have committed to using green electricity, helping cut supply-chain emissions by roughly 1 million tons in 2024 versus 2019. The company said it has achieved a 100 percent recycling rate for retired EV batteries in China, recovering more than 2,100 tons of battery materials last year. On the product side, BMW will launch its next-generation ‘Neue Klasse’ models in China with its sixth-generation eDrive technology, featuring cylindrical cells and an in-house energy-management system designed to reduce losses and improve performance. The automaker said the manufacturing redesign behind the new models further lowers the vehicles’ embedded carbon footprint from the moment they leave the Shenyang line. BMW is also working with State Grid and other partners to promote renewable-powered public charging. Its joint-venture brand, Ionchi, already supplies charging services using 100 percent green electricity.
7. https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/canada/article/detail/T0403565EN/more-performance-co2-reduced-production-significantly-lower-costs%3A-bmw-group-to-use-innovative-round-bmw-battery-cells-in-neue-klasse-from-2025?language=en – The BMW Group is particularly focused on keeping the carbon footprint and consumption of resources for production as low as possible, starting in the supply chain. Cell manufacturers will use cobalt, lithium and nickel that include a percentage of secondary material, i.e. raw materials that are not newly mined, but already in the loop, in production of battery cells. Combined with the commitment to use only green power from renewable energies for production of battery cells, the BMW Group will reduce the carbon footprint of battery cell production by up to 60 percent, compared to the current generation of battery cells. Reuse of raw materials will be one of the success factors for e-mobility in the future. Circular loops reduce the need for new raw materials, lower the risk of infringing environmental and social standards in the supply chain and generally result in significantly lower CO₂ emissions. That is why the long-term goal of the BMW Group is to use fully recyclable battery cells. In China, the company is currently creating a closed loop for reuse of the raw materials nickel, lithium and cobalt from high-voltage batteries, thus laying the cornerstone of a ground-breaking material cycle. The cobalt and lithium used as raw materials for the new generation of BMW battery cells will be sourced from certified mines. This means the company retains full transparency over extraction methods and, in this way, can ensure responsible mining. The sourcing of both raw materials from certified mines takes place either directly through the BMW Group or via the battery cell manufacturer.