BMW 750hL Hydrogen Inside News

                     First Stop:  Dubai 1st February 2001

    MUNICH, Germany, Jan. 22 With the departure of ten BMW
750hL cars by air transport today, the CleanEnergy WorldTour 2001 has been
launched.  In the next six months, the BMW hydrogen vehicles will go out in
search of answers to key questions:  how and where will hydrogen be produced?
How will the political framework be provided?  How will the hydrogen be
transported and a filling station network established?  And what contribution
can hydrogen cars make to the reduction of CO2 emissions?

    The CleanEnergy WorldTour thus continues the German success story of the
BMW hydrogen cars throughout the world: since the presentation of the vehicles
in Berlin on May 11th 2000, the BMW 750hL have covered over 100,000 kilometers
without problems.  The result of this long-term test is that hydrogen-powered
combustion engines have now been realised as a technological solution.  They
offer numerous benefits in terms of cost, weight and versatility of use
without foregoing superior driving performance and customary engine power.

    Now that the BMW Group has present the zero-litre car, a hydrogen
infrastructure is necessary.  Consistent reduction of CO2 will only be
possible when hydrogen is regeneratively produced in sufficient quantities.
The customer will not accept hydrogen until filling stations are available,
and hydrogen power will only assert itself on the market when the European
Union has established clear regulations.

    The first stage of the CleanEnergy WorldTour takes the fleet to Dubai on
February 1st.  Countries on the sun belt of the earth such as Dubai are
particularly well suited for the cheap, regenerative production of solar
energy.  For Arabian states, hydrogen also presents itself as an potential
economic alternative to finite fossil fuels such as mineral oil.

    With five events in Dubai, Brussels, Milan, Tokyo and Los Angeles, the
CleanEnergy WorldTour aims to give new impulses for hydrogen as an energy
source.  BMW presents the fleet in these cities with the goal of seeking
answers to crucial questions.  In this way, the BMW Group is making a
contribution to the realisation of sustainable energy with hydrogen as source
of power.

    Technical data of the BMW 750hL:  bivalent 5.4 litre 12-cylinder V-engine,
0-100 km/h in 9.6 s, max. 226 km/h, safety-optimised 140 litre hydrogen fuel
tank with encapsulation, range with hydrogen:  350 kilometres, additional
petrol operation possible.  Permanent vehicle power supply from 5kW, 42V fuel
cell unit.