BMW Group Names Dr. Bernardo Lopez to Head Palo Alto Technology Office

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., July 1 -- BMW Group announced that it has named Dr. Bernardo Lopez to head the BMW Group Technology Office in Palo Alto, CA, effective July 1, 2005. He will interface with Prof. Raymond Freymann, Managing Director of BMW Group Research and Technology. Dr. Lopez succeeds Dr. Joachim Stilla, who will assume new responsibilities at the company's headquarters in Munich, Germany.

Prior to this position, Dr. Lopez was head of information technology for the development of electronics in the research and development division at BMW Group in Munich, Germany. His extensive engineering experience includes work in simulation methods, project management and advanced powertrain engineering, especially in the field of electronics.

A native of Zamora, Spain, Dr. Lopez has a broad international education background having studied at universities in Spain and Germany, where he did research in such fields as neural networks. He also studied at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Lopez was awarded a Ph.D. in Physics in 1997 from the University of Wurzburg, Germany.

Located in the heart of California's Silicon Valley, the BMW Group Technology Office was founded in 1998 to identify and investigate leading-edge technologies in non-automotive fields that BMW Group can make available to its customers. Working closely with the BMW Group Research and Innovation Center (FIZ) in Munich, new technologies are identified and pursued at an early stage, with an eye toward their viability as future business propositions. Areas of technological interest currently being explored include: sensors, actuators, smart materials, and human/machine interaction. There is also emphasis on vehicle information and communication technology.

While most of the work of the Technology Office will be seen in future BMW Group vehicles, products such as the Miniature Head-Up Display in the sunglasses of the ORACLE BMW Racing Team used in the America's Cup and the iDrive controller in the current BMW 7 Series are already well-known technologies examples of its work. The Technology Office also developed the BMW iPod(TM) adapter that enabled the world's first integration of iPod(TM) and car audio systems, allowing iPod(TM) enthusiasts to connect with music like never before, while maintaining uncompromised control of the automobile.

Along with the BMW Group Engineering and Emissions Test Center in Oxnard and DesignworksUSA in Newbury Park, the Technology Office in Palo Alto forms the BMW Group California Innovation Triangle (CIT).

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the ROLLS-ROYCE brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group's global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4 Roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW passenger car centers, 327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 148 BMW motorcycle retailers, 80 MINI passenger car dealers, and 25 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at:

   http://www.bmwusa.com/
   http://www.bmwmotorradusa.com/
   http://www.miniusa.com/
   http://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com/