BMW presented several concepts for electric mobility on two wheels at the IAA in Munich. With these vehicles, the German company wants to cover various aspects of urban mobility – and in doing so, go beyond the currently permissible legal framework.
With the i Vision Circular, BMW has given a preview of how the carmaker envisions a compact car in 2040 – with a focus on sustainability and luxury. The concept is reminiscent of the i3 in many respects, but is said to have the future in mind.
BMW has introduced a new app generation. The ‘My BMW’ app replaces the ‘Connected’ app and is primarily intended to offer an extended range of functions for electrified vehicles.
On Instagram, two photos of the BMW iX3 have appeared showing the electric SUV in the series version without camouflage. The differences between these images and the concept shown so far are minimal.
Maximilian Günther (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) locked up his maiden win at the Santiago E-Prix, passing Antonio Felix Da Costa (Techeetah) on the last lap and becoming the youngest winner (22) in the history of the Formula E.
Oliver Zipse had made it clear in October that BMW is planning something new with the i3 electric car until further notice. Now there’s also a hint for how long – and clearly beyond the premieres of the iNext and i4.
The Formula E is back for its sixth season, presenting a whole a new battle between German carmakers as Mercedes and Porsche join Audi and BMW in the all-electric racing series.
The BMW Group plans to install more than 4,100 charging points for electric cars at its German locations by 2021. Primarily intended for employees, around half of the charging points will also be accessible to the public.
BMW has no plans for a successor to the i3. Pieter Nota, head of BMW sales told the Financial Times that the German luxury carmaker will instead concentrate on merging battery and plug-in technology with its other vehicles, while it drums up some new purely electric vehicles.
The new BMW boss Oliver Zipse briefly outlined his new drive strategy at the IAA. He avoided making a commitment to battery-electric cars such as VW did and stressed various options. With the ‘i Hydrogen Next’, BMW is also presenting a fuel cell car.
BMW will discontinue production of its i8 plug-in hybrid sports car in April 2020. This information is somewhat hidden in a press release from the carmaker on new special models for the i8 and the all-electric i3.
That BMW boss Harald Krüger stumbled over his passive e-mobility strategy, is considered likely in the industry. What will happen under his successor Oliver Zipse remains unclear. However, insiders now deliberated a few details on BMW’s planned models.
Oliver Zipse will take the lead at BMW on 16 August, the board just decided as much. With Harald Krüger leaving, the German carmaker will have much to do to catch up on electric mobility, fast.
BMW plans to offer 25 electrified models by 2023 – two years earlier than previously announced. Group CEO Harald Krüger also announced an ambitious growth target for electrified models.
The cooperation has resulted in the ClubSwan 36 high-performance sailing yacht. The 20 HP yacht is fitted with a Cruise 10.0 electric drive system as auxiliary propulsion by Torqeedo and BMW i batteries.
At round 2 of the Formula E season in Marrakech, Mahindra’s Jerome D’Ambrosio claimed victory. Yet, while India celebrated, BMW i Andretti had to deal with losing the chance of bringing home a double.
For the first time, the high voltage batteries and electric motor system developed for the BMW i3 will be used for the electric city bus Jest by the Turkish bus manufacturer Karsan.
At the IAA Commercial Vehicles, BPW Bergische Achsen has announced a cooperation with BMW i. In the frame of the cooperation, BPW will be using BMW i battery technology to develop a more powerful axle-motor for electrified trucks.
BMW has published their global sales data for the first 5 months of 2018 and shares of electric and hybrid cars are on the rise and grew by 41% worldwide. In countries like Norway and Malaysia, electrified cars even make for almost 50 percent of all sales.
BMW’s electric range BMW i has become a full member of the house as the firm launches the latest accessory collection for drivers of the i3 and i8 or those that would like to display a green conscience.
Around the world with zero emissions – the dream is not new but this time it is not about flying but sailing and Torqeedo and BMW want to make this vision a reality. They are jointly designing a yacht to compete in the Vendée Globe solo, around-the-world race in 2020.
The BMW Group delivered over 100,000 electric and plug-in vehicles in 2017 and is thus targeting 140,000 electrified vehicles this year. In some markets sales of PEVs accounted for 10 – 25 percent of all BMW sales. PEV deliveries in January increased by over a third.
The German company, specialised in electric motors for vessels, intends to launch a 25 kW range extender for its system Deep Blue. In order to do so, Torqeedo teams up with Dutch company WhisperPower.
The BMW i3s traction control system is getting a standard system in all upcoming BMW and Mini cars. According to the carmaker, the system significantly increases traction and driving stability.
Battery modules of the BMW i are now also getting part of the fully electrified delivery vans made by the Deutsche Post DHL. According to the German carmaker, these modules are equivalent to those used for the BMW i3.
90m dollars for a dream: “Uber of the sky” is a pitch investors hurry to buy into as Munich-based Lilium Aviation just learnt when it collected 90m dollars in its latest round of financing. The start-up promises to further develop its electric jet taxi and to employ more personnel, thus convincing the likes of Tencent and Skype founders. Lilium’s two-seat VTOL has been tested successfully and a five seater is in the making with the declared aim to bring range to one hour once airborne. businessinsider.de, autonews.com, fortune.com
Ninja racer: Japanese Aspark says it will present an electric supercar at the IAA that accelerates from 0 – 100 kph in less than two seconds. First pictures show the mysterious Aspark Owl and more technical details are to follow once the show has commenced. motor1.com
Chinese dominance: 70 percent of batteries for PEVs worldwide are made in China, reports the local China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). It also counts responsible for half of the world New Energy Vehicle production. xinhuanet.com
Long life tested: A longterm analysis of Tesla power packs attest 80 percent remaining capacity after 840,000 km driven. The estimate stems from data of 900 Tesla driver and is supported by the latest report from a Finnish cabdriver, whose battery lasted for 400,000 km almost unchanged. teslarati.com
Redemption of sorts: The Hummer gives way to electric cars and where AM General once made that quasi-tanks for “civilians” like Arnold Schwarzenegger, SF Motors is to take over. The subsidiary of Chongqing Sokon Industry Group bought the plant in South Bend, Indiana for 110m dollars and will keep on most of the 400+ strong workforce as well. It is the third acquisition in the States for the Chinese firm after it also set up shop in California as well as Michigan (we reported). While SF Motors is advised by Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard, an actual electric vehicle has yet to emerge. popularmechanics.com
Fisker has opened the order books online in the meantime and 2,000 dollars guarantee a reservation. Careful though, real prices start from 129,500 dollars so the cap at two reservations per person seem a bit of a luxury problem. The EMotion’s official presentation is set on August, 17 and a new video allows for a detailed preview. carscoops.com, fiskerinc.com, vimeo.com (video)
Nissan blows the cover of its new Leaf and has confirmed the date for its official launch: September, 5 or 6 considering the time difference to Japan. A new image emerged to tease the occasion, this time showing a blue grille and some chrome but mostly the Nissan badge. autoblog.com, motorauthority.com
Manufacturing network: BMW i Ventures took a stake in Xometry, an on-demand platform for product designers, engineers and procurement managers to find production facilities nationwide. Launched in 2014, the start-up now claims to have 5,000 customers. electriccarsreport.com
Electric SUV by Mahindra: The Indian carmaker is working on a production version of its XUV Aero concept, following positive reception at various shows earlier this year. A near-to-production model can be expected at Auto Expo 2018 with market entry set for later that year or early 2019. ibtimes.co.in, drivespark.com
Gaming got serious as Volvo Cars and Swedish supplier Autoliv cooperate with Nvidia, known for its graphics technology in computer games. The U.S. firm shall now turn that expertise into AI-based software for self-driving vehicles, which Volvo plans to introduce by 2021. reuters.com
Optimised charging: BMW i introduces the Digital Charging Service designed to enable tariff- and solar-optimized vehicle charging. It shall integrate EVs into the energy market as drivers will be able to work with utilities. Pilot markets are Germany and the Netherlands, where the service will start in spring 2017. greencarcongress.com, bmwgroup.com
Berlin electric buses are there to stay, says public transport provider BVG. The four pilot buses charge inductively and operation has improved over the year. Plus, they will not stay alone for long as BVG plans to acquire more electric models in a buying community with Hamburg Hochbahn. tagesspiegel.de (in German)
EV leasing in Finland: OP Financial Group is to launch an electric car leasing service in Finland. Rates start at almost 500 euros per month but clients must sign a two-year contract to be eligible. yle.fi
Free EV parking: Dundee City Council will offer free parking for electric cars. The scheme will allow EV drivers to use any of the council run facilities, not just those with charging points. Funding comes through the Smarter Choices Smarter Places programme. eveningtelegraph.co.uk
South American EV: Argentinian Sero Electric is an electric vehicle for up to two people that comes as a sedan and in two van versions. Each car uses a gel acid battery, which lasts for about 70 km. 150 Sero Electric have been build and another 500 – 600 units shall be added in 2017. Orders have been taken from Chile, Brasil and Mexico. Price varies from 12,000 to 15,000 dollars. telesurtv.net
Exactly 25,601 i-series BMW have been sold since the beginning of the year. The all-electric BMW i3 accounts for 21,052 units sold, while the keys of a total of 4,549 BMW i8 were handed over. press.bmwgroup.com
BMW delivered 3,361 i3 worldwide this September, that is an increase of 86.9 percent. Since the beginning of this year, 20,576 customers opted for either the BMW i3 or the hybrid i8, almost twice as many as over the same period last year (+95.1%). press.bmwgroup.com