In the European Union there are very strict regulations in terms of sustainability in the supply chain. Can you measure the impact of those regulations on an OEM like BMW and compared to OEMs from outside Europe?
NICOLAI: The complexity we have to handle in the automotive industry in relation to regulation is really high. There is no other industry with such a level of regulation. To get the approval to sell a vehicle, you have to fulfil I think at the moment around 1,650 rules and regulations. If you compare it with aeroplanes or with products in medicines or so you will never find such an amount of regulations you have to fulfil. And the regulations deviate across regions.
So it is something which leads to high investment in validation infrastructure which leads to high one-off costs to create products that are able to fulfil the regulations and to show them also to the authorities.
In terms of competitors from outside the EU, we have a lot of other companies falling under those regulations. So it is basically not a disadvantage because you also have to follow those regulations if you have a subsidiary in the EU or in Germany. And I think the more regulations we have in that framework, pragmatic and realistic without bureaucratic burdens, which don’ t really create more impact, that helps us in terms of competitiveness and for sustainability to create more impact.
76 January 2026