Rome - The BMW Group inaugurated the BMW i
Born Electric Tour at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni located at Via
Nazionale 194 in Rome. The worldwide tour will go on to visit six other
major cities over the next 12 months: Dusseldorf, Tokyo, New York,
London, Paris, and Shanghai.
BMW i was introduced by the BMW Group last
year and is now in the process of preparing for the launch of vehicles
under the brand in coming years. The models will be characterized by
extremely low environmental impact and designed for the express purpose
of reconciling the demands for individual mobility and sustainability.
Two prototypes are being presented at the
event: the BMW i3 Concept and the BMW i8 Concept. With its
zero-emissions all-electric engine and a range of about 150 km, the BMW
i3 Concept was designed expressly for city use. True to BMW, it also
offers a dynamic driving experience.
“We are very proud,” stated Franz Jung,
President and Managing Director of BMW Italia S.p.A., “that this world
tour is starting out from Italy and from the city of Rome. This major
urban city is predestined for innovative solutions and we wanted to
confirm our commitment to sustainable mobility. Furthermore, we believe
that the automobile represents an asset for society in terms of
contributing to the creation of value, and at the same time, represents
an irreplaceable means of individual mobility.”
The presentation in Rome is designed to
demonstrate the BMW Group’s holistic approach to future mobility, not
only in terms of products displayed, but also in terms of networking
information, technologies, and transportation systems. The initiative
also benefits from collaboration with the Italian architect and
designer, Fabio Novembre. Through collaboration with the Officina Design
and Driade, he will create his interpretation of the city and be the
first of seven major world-class artists engaged to offer their visions
of the urban context.
To underline the integrated approach of
the event, other local designers and businesses working in the field of
sustainable luxury goods, were selected to develop products representing
“Next Premium”. For example the high-fashion eyeglass frames W-eye™, the
Etcetera-Design furniture brand, jewellery designer Alice Visin, and the
Italian Catellani & Smith brand of lamps.
The event in Rome is scheduled to cover
four days from the 20th to 24th June. Yesterday, a series of workshops
open to public provided a platform to exchange views with international
experts including Jessica Scorpio (Getaround), Benoit Jacob (BMW i),
Oriana Persico (AOS), Andrea Granelli (kanso.it), Federico Ferrazza
(WIRED), Carlo Ratti (MIT), Francesco Lipari (OFL Architecture), Fabio
Novembre and Joseph Grima (DOMUS). On 22 and 23 June, the exhibit will
be open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The detailed program
of meetings can be found at www.bmw-i.it.
With BMW i, the BMW Group is consolidating
its position as the most innovative and sustainable automobile
manufacturer in the world and is responding to the challenges of the
future in terms of eco-sustainable mobility. Together with its premium
electric vehicles, BMW also offers a range of services for mobility.
These are services aimed at optimizing the use of parking spaces, the
utilization of navigation systems that can access local information,
intermodal road maps, and car-sharing schemes such as DriveNow.
BMW i recently acquired an interest in
MyCityWay and ParkatmyHouse web portals. ParkatmyHouse makes it possible
for private persons to rent their personal parking space when it is not
in use, via the internet or a specific smartphone application.
