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BMW Group is proving that clever software can change how people drive without taking the keys away. Working with the City of Rotterdam and academic partners, the brand has been running a series of pilots across the Netherlands to refine how drivers use their cars, where they park them, and when they plug them in. The aim is simple but ambitious: keep personal mobility convenient while cutting congestion, energy use and CO2 emissions through data, gentle prompts and smart in-car and app-based features.
The “My Travels” project put this theory to the test with 300 BMW and MINI drivers. A dedicated app broke down each journey by distance band and highlighted realistic alternatives such as walking, cycling or public transport. By simply seeing how many short trips they were making and what they could do instead, active users left their car at home roughly once a week compared with non-users, and avoided around 1.5 short journeys (up to five kilometres) every week. Most were happiest to swap leisure drives, gym runs, and supermarket hops for other modes, while child drop-offs stayed firmly in the “car only” category. Time, weather and the availability of alternatives were the main deciding factors.
In parallel, the “MINI Artwork Challenge” explored how to make electric driving more efficient without feeling like a lecture. Fully electric MINI Countryman and Cooper models rewarded drivers for selecting the efficient driving mode by evolving an AI-generated artwork on the central display. Real-world BMW and MINI fleet data show that efficient mode already cuts energy consumption by about 7%, and the challenge pushed participants to use it more often. Their share of trips in this setting climbed from around 25% to almost 40%, a 60% jump that translates directly into lower energy demand and more usable range from each charge.
The “COOL” (CO2 Optimal Charging) trial shifted focus from the road to the plug. Here, 355 BMW electric and plug-in hybrid drivers used an app that displayed real-time CO2 intensity for the national grid and sent alerts when the mix became cleaner. Over 13,000 charging sessions were analysed, and participants increased CO2-improved charging windows by 6% compared with a control group. Crucially, simple graphs and forecasts alone did not move the needle; combining clear information with timely nudges did. A large majority of users said they were willing to make extra effort to choose low-emission charging slots, even though many already held green electricity contracts, and they asked for seamless integration with existing energy apps and more automation in future.
These projects build on the earlier Smart City Travel pilot in Rotterdam, which showed that drivers need to know about alternatives before a journey starts, not once they are already committed to a route. Since 2018, BMW Group and Rotterdam have been using insights like these to shape more liveable, lower-emission cities where cars fit neatly into a wider mobility network. By blending connected-car data, thoughtful app design and small but meaningful incentives, BMW is turning digital nudges into practical gains for drivers, city planners and the urban environment alike.
