The eco-rally sees a wide range of cars driving from one end of the North Island to the other to promote fuel efficient vehicles and fuel-saving driving techniques. 64 cars have been entered in the four day rally to be held 24th to 27th November, with the BMW 730Ld entering in the Large / Luxury class alongside entries from Ford, Honda and Hyundai.
The BMW 730Ld was chosen last year to replace the Department of Internal Affairs’ fleet of Ford Fairlanes and Holden Statesmans, on the grounds of the BMW’s fuel efficiency and cheaper whole-of-life cost. The three-litre diesel-powered BMW is capable of driving 100 kilometres on just 6.3 litres of fuel.
The BMW 730Ld is one of a number of BMWs entered in this year’s AA EnergyWise Rally, including the BMW 118d, which was named 2008 World Green Car of the Year at the NY Auto Show. BMW has received worldwide recognition for its sustainability strategy, known as BMW EfficientDynamics, which works to improve both the power and fuel economy of every BMW model. In the UK, this strategy saw BMW Group account for 48% of the total CO2 reduction in 2007 by the car industry.
BMW Group New Zealand Managing Director, Mark Gilbert said that instead of having one or two “token” environmental models available, BMW applies its fuel-saving technologies to every vehicle it manufacturers.
“BMW has always been the pioneer in terms of automotive technology, and we are applying this passion and ingenuity to building cars that are not only dynamically superior, but also more fuel efficient than their competitors,” said Mr Gilbert.
In 2007, BMW launched the world’s first-ever hydrogen-powered production car, the BMW Hydrogen 7. Based on the same platform as the BMW 7 Series entered in the AA EnergyWise Rally, the Hydrogen 7 is capable of running either on fossil fuels or hydrogen. When running in Hydrogen mode, the Hydrogen 7 emits virtually nothing but water vapour
