BMW has announced a new update for the My BMW App and MINI App, introducing a feature that allows drivers to view their carbon footprint. It’s designed for use with traditional ICE vehicles as well as BEVs and plug-in hybrids.
“Our usage research shows: The information in My Trips is one of the most popular features in the app,” says Dirk Wiedmann, Senior Vice President Sales Steering and Strategy, Digitalization. “We are now expanding this successful function with carbon footprint calculation, giving our customers simple and straightforward access to sustainability-related information via a popular and widely used channel.”
The new feature is being launched in Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. It will be available for the BMW 1 Series, 2 Series, 5 Series, 5 Series Touring, the X2, X3, M5, and iX. It will also be available on the My MINI App for the MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper C, MINI Aceman, and the MINI Countryman.
Two sets of figures
Calculation of the personal footprint is based on two central sets of figures. It takes into account emissions from vehicle use: My Trips analyzes the routes the driver has completed and uses the energy consumed in the process to calculate the CO2 emitted.
To this end, CO2 equivalents are calculated using data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). For vehicles with combustion engines, the app calculates the amount of CO2 emitted based on the fuel consumed.
For battery-electric vehicles, it shows the emissions generated when using the average national energy mix. Additionally, it illustrates the potential for reducing emissions by using green energy.
Secondly, it calculates the emissions generated during the manufacturing process. Emissions are recorded from the processing of raw materials, the procurement of materials, the transport logistics, and the production of the specific model.
The BMW Group already sets out the emissions figures for numerous models in the form of Vehicle Footprint Reports. These are calculated according to recognised standards for life cycle assessments and certified by the TÜV Rheinland agency. They can also be downloaded from the BMW Group website.
Electric Vehicle Analysis
The new feature joins another tool on the My BMW App called the Electric Vehicle Analysis (introduced last Summer). This gives drivers of combustion engine BMWs insights into how a fully electric BMW would perform based on their driving profile and behaviour.
BMW explains: “Here, the customer selects an electric BMW model as an alternative vehicle in the app. Once the combustion engine model has completed at least 200 journeys and covered a distance of 2,000 kilometers, the analysis shows the journeys the user could have completed on a single charge with the selected electric vehicle. Also, it flags up charging stations close to frequently visited destinations.” By May 2025, more than 100,000 customers had utilized this analysis.
Over 14 million customers worldwide use the My BMW App and MINI App. The My Trips function is available in more than 90 countries and is actively used by 1.9 million users.
