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BMW Blog got the opportunity to interview BMW Efficient Dynamics Specialist Laurent Chauvigne at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. In the excerpt of the interview below, Chauvigne talks about the fuel efficiency within BMW fleet and some future products and technologies that will carry the BMW EfficientDynamics stigma. He also helps up define what EfficientDynamics is.
BMWBLOG: Tell us what’s next for BMW in terms of EfficientDynamics.
Laurent Chauvigne: You can see the next step for example in the X3 – the auto start-stop functionality, which was for the first time combined by BMW with the automatic transmission – the eight-speed automatic transmission, and also combined with the 6-cylinder engine. Until now, the auto start-stop function was only fitted on the 4-cylinder engine with manual transmission.
So we are optimizing the known technologies to use them broader in our product range or to have a better prediction of fuel consumption. Another one is reduced tires resistance – we already have a second generation of such tires, and we are looking with suppliers at new ones. Next, we look at how the chain between fuel tank and wheels, and where goes the energy, where is an energy loss. And we’re looking at all the points of the chain and try to optimize where it makes sense. You can put a lot of money in the optimization of one point, but perhaps you will see it is not so interesting for the consumer. So we’re looking for example at the engine heat which majority of it is lost, but perhaps we can find a solution to reuse the heat for other purposes.
BMWBLOG: As far as EfficientDynamics, are the future plans to focus more on fuel efficient diesel-engines or a combination between diesel engines and electric motors?
Laurent Chauvigne: We are looking at all of these. On one side, we try to have the normal emission optimized, diesel and gasoline engines. The second pillar of the EfficientDynamics technologies is the energy brake regeneration, then we have the hybrid and the e-technology on the third pillar, and we also have the hydrogen, which we showed already with the old 7 Series.
So we are working on all these points of view, we want to make the best for the customer – where it makes sense. For example in Europe, which is a big diesel market, we will try to bring optimized diesel engines with EfficientDynamics features because perhaps a hybrid technology together with diesel makes so much sense. In US, on the other hand, there are big gasoline engines. So we are looking at all the technologies, in mobility too, with the MINI E and ActiveE and. We don’t say we want to concentrate only on these points of view, but we are also looking at other possibilities and we place the features that make sense to each country, to each customer.
BMWBLOG: What makes that BMW 320d EfficientDynamics so special? Why is it different from the regular 320 diesel?
Laurent Chauvigne: We made the car with energy saver tires from Michelin – second generation of reduced resistance tires, you have the electric power steering, the special clutch – the final drive is longer than the normal one, so you don’t have any vibration of the engine at low-speeds of the engine. And we have special aerodynamics elements that have been optimized – the car is a little bit lower than normal one, so that at the end you have 109 g/km CO2 emissions for BMW 320ed and the normal one has 125 g/km, so a 10-20% optimization – so it’s a big number.
BMWBLOG: Is that the most fuel efficient BMW now?
Laurent Chauvigne: It’s the most efficient BMW and when you see 109 grams/km and 163 hp, it’s a big number. There is also the MINI with the 99 grams, the normal MINI with lots of EfficientDynamics controls in it.
BMWBLOG: Since you mentioned MINI, besides the MINI electric, are there BMW technologies making their way into MINI cars?
Laurent Chauvigne: The same EfficientDynamics features: anti brake regeneration, auto start-stop, and so on.
BMWBLOG: In display here in Paris, you have a BMW Z4 23i with EfficientDynamics label attached to it. What makes it so special?
Laurent Chauvigne: For example in this one you don’t have the auto start-stop functionality because it was a six-cylinder engine, and the first time this combination is used is now in the X3. But energy brake regeneration is in it, electric power steering, reduced resistance tires, special continent control – for example the climate control with a special clutch, so the climate works only when you use it; when you don’t use it it is turned off.
So in all of our cars we have EfficientDynamics features, we only choose what makes sense for each of them, for the consumers. A lot of journalists ask what is the EfficientDynamics with the M models. When you look at the power of the M Models, and you compare it to other carmakers, the efficiency is better with this power. It seems to be high, but for this power, it’s a good value.
BMWBLOG: So in a few words, what is EfficientDynamics?
Laurent Chauvigne: It’s everything. It’s very important not to concentrate only on hybrid technology or a specific technology. We look at the entire chain of energy and we try to optimize at all the points that are making sense. And EfficientDynamics is the reason why we have these wording, because it’s not a terminology, but it’s all a strategy.
Source: BMW Blog
