BMW ConnectedDrive receives special Euro NCAP award for Assist Advanced eCall

Press Release: Testing institute distinguishes BMW Assist Advanced eCall as a pioneering safety technology beyond crash test requirements – The only emergency call system in Europe that BMW ConnectedDrive provides for all BMW models – Award conferred at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.

Munich. Following the most recent awards of five stars for the BMW 5 Series sedan and the BMW X1 in crash tests, the Munich premium automobile manufacturer has now been distinguished by the safety testing institute Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) with a special award for the BMW Assist Advanced eCall, the advanced emergency call system with automatic localisation and accident severity detection.

Awarded for the first time, the Euro NCAP Advanced Award distinguishes pioneering technologies in the field of vehicle safety and occupant protection that extend beyond the crash test requirements acknowledged throughout Europe. The award ceremony will be held on Friday, 1 October 2010 at the Paris Motor Show in Paris.

With its Euro NCAP Advanced Award, this institution funded by European governments, automobile clubs, and insurance companies is expanding its assessment procedure to include safety technologies that have yet to be taken up in the crash tests. As explained by Euro NCAP’s Secretary General Dr. Michiel van Ratingen, the key objective of the award is to educate consumers on the advantages of innovative safety systems in cars. In this respect, the focus of interest is placed on innovations that contribute directly to reducing the number of deaths on the road. The BMW Assist Advanced eCall is a unique system on the European car market for the early alert and comprehensive information of emergency services in the event of a collision. It forms part of the mobility services provided by BMW ConnectedDrive available in the BMW Assist package for all current BMW models.

Launched in 1997 in the USA and two years later in Europe, this technology automatically contacts a BMW call centre directly after an accident, creating the optimal conditions for the fast and targeted deployment of emergency services. The BMW call centre then reroutes the emergency call directly to the emergency services closest to the accident site. Since 2008, Assist Advanced eCall, now available in Germany, Austria, Italy, and France, also allows the transmission of additional data. The emergency services of many European countries can now receive these data that, in addition to the precise position and details of the vehicle model and colour, also contain information on the occupants, the number of activated airbags, the intensity of the collision, and the predicted severity of injuries.

The data on crash type and severity are analysed by an algorithm developed by BMW scientists for calculating the risk of injuries to the occupants. On the strength of this information the emergency services can prepare in good time and provide adequate medical care to the accident victims. In addition, the system also allows the driver of a BMW to initiate the emergency call manually, for instance to alert emergency services to other road users. In this manner, Assist Advanced eCall is an effective contribution to saving the lives of accident victims.

The Euro NCAP Advanced Award is a supplementary award for the assessment of vehicles that have achieved at least three stars in the testing institute’s crash test. The first recipient of this award is therefore the BMW 5 Series sedan certificated with five stars. Launched in March 2010, this model could convince the testers with its extensive standard safety equipment and highly effective occupant protection for a range of collision types. Achieving excellent results for the protection of both adult and child occupants and of pedestrians, this business sedan therefore ranks at the top of its segment in terms of safety too. Furthermore, the new BMW 5 Series sedan is the very first vehicle at all to be awarded 100% for its comprehensive safety equipment in the Euro NCAP crash test.