BMW has officially published key data on the new generation of the Mini Countryman, which will also come with a purely electric drive. For the first time, an electric car of the Mini brand will also have an all-wheel drive.
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Mini has revealed more details about its future electric models. The new Countryman is scheduled for launch in February 2024. In the summer of that same year, the new electric hatch, now named Cooper, will follow suit, as an EV first.
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The BMW Group has presented plans on how to expand the capacities for EV component production at the Leipzig site by 2024. In the future, eight production lines are planned on which various production steps of battery assembly will take place.
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German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and Kia have entered into a strategic partnership for used electric car batteries. The goal is to turn older EV batteries into high-performance energy storage units. DB startup Encore will take over procurement and production.
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The BMW i3 is now history. BMW delivered the last 18 units of the company’s first electric car a few days ago. The company discontinued production of the electric pioneer in Leipzig at the end of June after they had manufactured around 250,000 BMW i3.
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At the BMW plant in Leipzig, the second production line for battery modules has started series production. The new production line manufactures battery modules for the all-electric BMW i4, which is being built at the Munich plant.
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Porsche has postponed the market launch of the all-electric Macan until 2024. What was previously a rumour in the industry has now been confirmed by Porsche boss Oliver Blume himself. But: In addition to the E-Macan, a new electric luxury SUV is to roll off the production line in Leipzig in the future.
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Porsche is apparently planning a successor to its all-electric Panamera along with another electric model. These two models and the successor to the all-electric Macan are to be built at the carmaker’s Leipzig plant where Porsche is hiring additional personnel.
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The BMW Group is starting production of battery components at its Leipzig and Regensburg plants. On 3 May 2021, the series production of battery modules will start in Leipzig. The Regensburg plant already began painting battery cells for high-voltage batteries in April.
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BMW announced that it would invest 400 million euros in a new vehicle assembly line for its main plant in Munich as they gear up for electric car production. For this, the company’s combustion engine production will have to make way.
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Automotive supplier Dräxlmaier celebrated the topping-out of a new plant for the production of high-voltage battery systems in Leipzig on Monday. The battery systems intended for the electric Macan will roll off the Porsche assembly line at Leipzig.
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BMW is now again expanding battery production in Germany. After BMW opened an e-drive competence centre in Germany and a battery centre in China at BMW Brilliance Automotive in the summer, the BMW plant in Leipzig will now be building battery modules from 2021.
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In Germany, the increased purchase premium is boosting demand for electric cars. BMW and VW have now responded by expanding production of the i3 in Leipzig, while the VW e-Golf will continue to be built in Dresden until Christmas, contrary to initial plans.
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The conversion of the Porsche plant in Leipzig for the production of the third generation of the now also electric Macan is on schedule despite the Corona crisis. The new body shop for Porsche’s latest e-SUV has now been completed from the outside.
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The last i8 to be made left the Leipzig BMW plant on Thursday. Production of the PHEV was actually supposed to end in mid-April. But since the factory was shut down because of the coronavirus crisis, the end of production was postponed to June.
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The Leipzig transport authority (LVB) has ordered their first electric buses for use in regular service and awarded the contract to the Dutch manufacturer VDL Bus & Coach. They are to supply 21 electric buses to Saxony by the end of this year.
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Porsche is expanding high power charging infrastructure in central Germany with the opening of a new charging park called Porsche Turbo Charging in Leipzig. The park has a total capacity of seven megawatts drawn entirely from renewable energy.
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In Germany, on behalf of two transit agencies, Alstom will manufacture, supply and maintain eleven Coradia Continental battery-electric trains for regional transport on the Leipzig-Chemnitz line by 2032. The order volume is worth around 100 million euros.
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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.
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The Federal Ministry of Transport is supporting hydrogen mobility with a further 23.5 million euros as part of the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP).
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BMW is to receive fewer German government subsidies for the construction of the i3 and i8 at its Leipzig plant than it had applied for. The federal German government originally considered paying BMW 45 million euros, but the EU Commission only approved 17 million.
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With the fully electric Macan to enter production in Leipzig early on in the next decade, Porsche is integrating axle assembly on-site. So far, the factory had outsourced this work to a supplier and Porsche says, the new unit will create more than 100 jobs and help keep motors a USP.
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Porsche has selected the plant in Leipzig for another push towards electrification. 600 million euros for what will be the fifth expansion of the site in Saxony, former East Germany, are to help Porsche to set course on manufacturing future electric models.
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The German railway corporation has purchased a majority stock of the electric vehicle ride-share specialists CleverShuttle. Parallel to the takeover, the partners are expanding their Leipzig facilities.
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BMW is investing more than 300 million euro in the expansion of their Leipzig factory, where the i3 and the i8 models are manufactured. The focus is on several major construction endeavors to improve and modernise chassis construction, painting, assembly and logistics.
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As of Thursday next week, things will get decidedly more serious for diesel drivers in Hamburg. According to the German environmental ministry, thoroughfare restrictions will start in two Hamburg streets on the 31.05.
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BMW has begun making the i8 Roadster at its Leipzig facility, where it will roll off the same lines as the i8 Coupé. Clients may customise their plug-in hybrid and both variants are expected to hit the markets in May.
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Cities in Germany now have the right to ban diesel vehicles within their city limits, according to a new court ruling that had been long expected. Hamburg is the first town to take advantage of the new situation, putting the industry under yet more pressure.
Read moreGerman infrastructure: Round two of funding for Germany’s fast-charging corridor is about to commence with 100m euros to be made available. The tender will officially open at this week’s end and aims for 12,000 regular and 1,000 fast-charge points.
metropolregion.de (in German)
Urban Supercharger: Tesla wants more but more slowly as it unveils a new Supercharger design made for dense cities that charges at a slower rate. The new Superchargers are easier to install and need less space while charging at 72 kW at each stall, so they effectively reach a similar charge time than other Superchargers, according to the EV maker. In the wake of the Model 3, Tesla said it would increase the number of Superchargers to 10,000 before the year’s end (we reported).
electrek.co, tesla.com
Call for free floating through Leipzig: Eastern Germany’s fastest growing city wants to start a carsharing pilot that allows cars to float freely. Up to 750 vehicles shall be deployed and at least one tenth must be electric. Manufacturers and providers are invited to apply but may provide 250 cars max. with the programme running over five years from 2018.
leipzig.de (in German)
Public servants rewarded: San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) will offer 1,000 dollar rebates to teachers and first-responders who buy electric vehicles. The utility will use 500,000 dollars of its own shareholder money to fund the scheme over the coming three years.
sandiegouniontribune.com, sdgenews.com
Manage charging: BMW’s Connected app will include new features from Q4 such as the BMW Digital Charging Service, which enables charging with renewables, or at low cost. BMW Connected already offers an overview of crucial data such as remaining range or the state-of-charge.
bmwgroup.com
Leipzig got a plan to become Germany’s most electrified city. A new proposal wants to see 80 percent share of electric vehicles in municipal fleets by 2019 and electric buses only by 2030. On the citizen side, electric cars may park for free for at least five years and an electric scooter sharing may be introduced as well. Commercial vehicles would benefit from extended delivery slots – if they drive electrically and come from so-called urban hubs that centralise goods transfer. A new e-mobility division within city hall will be responsible to execute each project.
bild.de (in German)
Tesla vanpool in LA: Green Commuter started to lease a fleet of Tesla Model X to commuters and so-called vanpoolers, that use the seven seats of the electric SUV. The company plans to expand the fleet to 50-80 units by the end of the year.
ngtnews.com, businesswire.com
Natural choice: The Cambridge Organic Food Company is going fully green as it acquired three Nissan e-NV200 vans. The electric transporters are to deliver boxes of organic fruit and vegetables.
nissaninsider.co.uk
New York rebate launched:The state of New York kicked off its 70m dollar EV rebate scheme and outreach that had been in the making for over a year reportedly. The Drive Clean rebates (up to 2,000 dollars) are now available to all New York residents who buy plug-in electric or fuel cell cars.
ngtnews.com, governor.ny.gov
Exclusive EV access: New Zealand started a trial that allows priority access for electric vehicles at five different bypass lanes across Auckland. The lanes are also known as T2 and Truck lanes and the programme is similar to the HOV lanes in California but allows only fully electric cars.
netguide.co.nz
