BMW is to supply over 240,000 diesel engines for use in American police cars in a deal worth billions of euros.
The I6 engine will go into a new US police car being developed by Carbon Motors in Indiana. The deal includes automatic transmissions, cooling systems and exhausts. BMW will begin delivering the components in 2013.
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Carbon Motors was launched in 2003 and is developing the E7 police car, which it claims is the first vehicle designed exclusively for police work. The company is applying for a US$310m loan from the US Department of Energy.
BMW estimates its diesel engines will reduce fuel consumption by as much as 40% compared with current police cars. The company already offers diesel engines in the US in its 3 series sedan and X5 SUV. It said 17% of X5s sold last year in the US were diesel powered.
BMW’s sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson said the agreement was in line with the company’s Strategy Number ONE which includes the expansion of powertrain system sales.
Engine development and construction is a BMW Group’s speciality and is part of the company’s heritage since its founding in 1916. The company has three engine plants in Steyr, Austria; Munich, Germany; and Hams Hall, UK.
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INTERVIEW with Carbon Motors’ Trevor Rudderham
