Keep your old car for longer, buy fewer new cars, says BMW exec

BMW’s sustainability boss said she thinks selling fewer new cars, and instead prolonging the lifespan of existing cars, is a path that should be explored by car companies for a more sustainable business model.

Monika Dernai, the head of BMW’s sustainability team, told a conference in the UK during a panel on circular economics, that building cars to last longer, and ‘refreshing’ them rather than having customers buy an entirely new car, could be the key to using fewer resources.

UK outlet Auto Express reports that Ms Dernai said there would still need to be a car industry, but perhaps that the focus would be less on manufacturing.

“We really need to think about prolonging the life of cars; not having a used-car market where you sell cars to each other, but maybe take a car and extend its lifespan.

“The idea could be that you could freshen up the interior.”

As an example, Ms Dernai suggested a car’s interior could be replaced once it feels outdated instead of selling the car into the used market.

“We need new skill sets in the aftermarket and to design cars so that the seat can be removed and a fresh seat can be moved in. Then it’s a used car that looks like a new car. 

“It can have the same owner, who then doesn’t buy a new car, but we still have a business model as BMW and the whole of society benefits from that.”

Ms Dernai further suggested the industry was still at no risk of being made redundant - especially in places where public transport isn’t very prolific.

“Can we actually just move everybody to public transport? I think the answer is no. 

“You’re worried about the public transport in the UK, but if you look at the US it’s even more desolate. So I think there’s still a market for cars out there.”