In today’s “National Low Carbon Day” event in 2024, BMW’s Shenyang production base, which just welcomed its 6 millionth domestically produced BMW, has been designated as the Ministry of Ecology and Environment’s “2023 Green Low Carbon Public Participation Practice Base.” BMW is also the first automotive company to be selected as a “base.”
Located in Shenyang, Liaoning, the BMW production base is responsible for nearly one-third of the global production tasks of the BMW brand every year. It has been awarded the title of “National Green Factory” by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for seven consecutive years. Dr. Dahexuan, President and CEO of BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., said, “We are very honored to once again receive national encouragement and recognition. We have always adhered to green ‘smart’ manufacturing to produce every BMW car and provide customers with high-quality ‘green’ cars, which is a firm commitment to ‘home in China’.” The just-offline 6 millionth domestically produced BMW car – an innovative all-new matte pure gray painted electric BMW i5, is the latest proof of BMW’s promotion of green “smart” manufacturing. This new paint comes from the “zero water consumption” production process in the painting workshop of the Dadong factory and will be offered as an optional personalized paint for consumers starting this month, allowing the new BMW 5 Series to meet customers’ personalized needs while saving water resources.
“For BMW, we will continue to leverage our experience and expertise to actively cultivate intelligent, green new production forces and jointly implement climate responsibilities,” Dr. Dai Hexuan continued. From production to logistics, to supply chain, to business operations, BMW has fully integrated the sustainable development concepts of “full-chain carbon reduction” and “circular sustainability” into various aspects of the Shenyang production base, and has achieved outstanding results in green energy transformation, energy efficiency improvement, resource recycling, and ecological protection. Green energy transformation: Currently, BMW’s Shenyang production base uses purchased renewable energy to power production, and BMW has also switched to green electricity for all 37 non-production sites in China. BMW is promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of energy consumption for the entire value chain enterprises, including production bases, supply chains, dealers, and real estate partners. Energy efficiency improvement: BMW’s Shenyang production base fully utilizes big data, AI, and other digital technologies to improve production and operation efficiency. For example, the base’s intelligent energy management system can monitor real-time consumption of energy and resources at factory, workshop, regional, and equipment levels, as well as water, electricity, and gas, to optimize energy efficiency and achieve high-quality, efficient digital production. Resource recycling: BMW Shenyang production base has formed its own “Mobius loop” in multiple dimensions such as water resource recycling, waste reduction, and classified treatment. The Da Dong factory, producing the new BMW 5 series, has already achieved 100% industrial water recycling in the paint shop, completely eliminating the need for tap water. Huachen BMW was selected as one of the first “national industrial wastewater recycling pilot enterprises” by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2022. Both a car factory and an ecological garden: While adhering to green production, BMW Shenyang production base actively participates in local ecological environment and biodiversity protection. For example, the lush Rida plant area has over 11,000 trees and a 7,500 square meter ecological garden, becoming a habitat for the nationally protected bird, the cattle egret, in the north. The artificial lake in the plant area uses treated “recycled water” as a water source, nurturing a pond of koi fish, making the ecological garden a popular spot for employees to relax during breaks. The continuous improvement of the factory’s green “smart” manufacturing level is inseparable from BMW’s long-term investment. Just last month, BMW Group announced an additional investment of 20 billion yuan in China for the large-scale upgrade and technological innovation of the Shenyang production base, expecting to welcome the arrival of BMW’s “new generation” models with a more efficient, intelligent, and green production approach. The mayor opened the new shopping mall yesterday, with hundreds of people in attendance.
