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      09-23-2012, 02:46 PM   #41
toneus
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Drives: BMW X5 xDrive40d SE (on order)
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This from BMW

12th september


BMW on BBC Watchdog & Channel 4 News Tonight

Tonight BMW will feature as part of a piece on vehicle theft on the BBC programme Watchdog at 20:00 and on the Channel 4 News at 17:00.

You may be asked by friends and family what your view of this is, so you need to be aware of the company position.

BMW, like other manufacturers, has become the target of organised criminal operations that are targeting specific vehicles and using highly sophisticated equipment illegally to steal vehicles.

Certain criminal threats, like the one highlighted on these programmes, simply do not exist when cars are designed and developed. This does not mean the car companies have done anything wrong, neither are they legally obliged to take any action. However, BMW has always taken security extremely seriously and has worked closely with police forces around the country (and the world), with Thatcham and with the industry body, the SMMT (The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) to understand and mitigate against car crime wherever possible. Therefore, when we were made aware of this new form of attack, we took it very seriously and immediately launched an investigation. A vital point to acknowledge here is that there is no such thing as the unstealable car.

There is no specific BMW security issue here, this is something which affects many brands, however organised criminals have targeted particularly desirable cars, with higher value parts and that is why BMW is amongst the brands affected. BMW prides itself on its vehicle security systems and all BMWs meet all UK and global security standards. Our engineers and technicians review all aspects of our vehicles constantly, including security systems, and after extensive research we are clear that none of our latest models - new 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series and 7 Series - nor any other BMW built after September 2011 can be stolen using the method highlighted. Given this information, no BMW UK company cars seem to be affected.


For cars built before this date our investigations, jointly with the police, have identified late model BMW X5 and X6 as cars which have been focused on by organised criminals. We are now taking steps to mitigate against this type of theft for these two models and are contacting customers accordingly. For obvious security reasons we cannot say what these measures are. We are considering options for certain other models to see if similar measures might be applied.

Should you be asked what our advice to customers on this issue is you can say:
•When using remote locking, ensure the car has actually locked by checking a door.
•Be careful with your keys and who you give them to (e.g. valet parking). There is a risk that they could be cloned.
•Where ever possible park your car out of sight, in a locked garage or under the cover of CCTV cameras
•In addition: We recommend servicing your BMW at dealerships capable of providing software updates (e.g. authorised BMW Dealerships) on a regular basis to give the opportunity of further enhancing theft protection.

Anybody seeking for further advice should contact the BMW Customer Service Centre on 0800 083 4397.
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