February 13, 2026 14:37

In anticipation of the Regulation on circularity requirements in vehicle design and on the management of end-of-life vehicles (ELV) entering into force over the next two to three years, carmakers are beginning to expand into the recycling sector, in a pattern similar to that seen in packaging following the introduction of the SUP and PPWR regulations.

The latest development comes from BMW Group and PreZero (Schwarz Group), which have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to enable the closed-loop recovery of materials from scrapped vehicles.
“Within the framework of the collaboration, innovative and efficient recycling processes for end-of-life vehicles will be jointly tested and brought to series maturity, while new approaches to material flow management will also be developed,” the two partners said.

A central element of the partnership is knowledge transfer.
BMW Group will contribute its production expertise in “design for recycling” and the experience gained in end-of-life vehicle recovery at its Recycling and Dismantling Centre (RDC).
PreZero will provide its know-how in material flow management and sorting technologies, drawing on the experience it has developed in battery recycling in Europe.

The primary objective is to prioritise component reuse, followed by the recycling of recoverable materials such as steel, aluminium, plastics and battery raw materials.

“With PreZero, we are creating the conditions needed to design a vehicle’s entire value chain in a way that keeps materials and components of the highest quality in the loop for as long as possible. Our goal is to significantly reduce the need for primary materials and make supply chains more resilient,” said Ralf Hattler, Senior Vice President Customer Support and Aftersales BMW Group.

“Together, we are developing scalable solutions that not only meet strict compliance and sustainability requirements but also drive the decarbonisation of the industry across Europe. In this way, we are closing the gap between automotive development and the realities of recycling,” added Carsten Dülfer, CEO of PreZero in Germany.

Recent examples of alliances between carmakers and recyclers or dismantlers include agreements signed by The Future Is Neutral (Renault) in Italy with Pollini and in France with Suez. Partnerships on specific materials between automakers and plastics suppliers are also increasing, such as the projects between Covestro and Volkswagen, together with other partners, on PMMA, and between Domo Chemicals and Audi on polyamides, within the European market.

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