BMW’s electrification strategy is cruising along smoothly. The i3 is moving around 1,000 units a month, i8s are selling as fast as they’re being built, and the company has said it plans to introduce a plug-in model in every one of its product segments. The next e-beemer will be the 2016 X5 plug-in hybrid SUV,… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "bmw"
BMW i3 nearing “sustainable” rate of sales
Sales of the BMW i3 are approaching “a sustainable rate” of 12,000 i3s annually, Ludwig Willisch, CEO of BMW of North America, told Automotive News. This figure seems roughly in line with that of auto consultant Sandy Munro, who has estimated that the i3 could be profitable for the company at a global volume of… Read more »
Sources say Samsung to provide battery packs for BMW X5
Industry sources expect Samsung SDI to provide battery packs for BMW’s upcoming X5 Plug-in Hybrid SUV, according to Korean news agency Yonhap. In July 2014, BMW and Samsung agreed to expand their supply relationship. The Korean company’s battery cells power the BMW i3 and i8, and market research firm IHS expects Samsung to increase shipments… Read more »
February plug-in sales slow overall, but BMW i3 powers ahead
There are plenty of legitimate excuses: winter is always the slow season for auto sales; a couple of key vehicles are in rundown mode as buyers wait for a new and improved model; and, although logic tells us they shouldn’t, ultralow gas prices may be taking a bite out of demand for plug-ins. Be all… Read more »
BMW establishes retirement plan for EV batteries
Repurposing used EV batteries as stationary storage is an elegant solution to several problems. Once a Li-ion battery has served for several years in a vehicle, it may not retain its youthful strength, but it still has plenty of storage capacity for applications such as stabilizing the power grid and/or storing the intermittent power from… Read more »
BMW Super Bowl ad: Big ideas like the i3 take a little getting used to
The parallel between today’s EV market and the early days of the internet is easy to see, at least for those old enough to remember the many articles in the 1990s that insisted that the web was a passing fad, and in fact was already on its way out. BMW cleverly plays on this irony… Read more »
BMW and Volkswagen partner with ChargePoint to create fast charging corridors on East and West Coasts
One indicator of an automaker’s seriousness about EVs may be its willingness to invest a substantial amount in charging infrastructure, as Nissan and Tesla have done. This week, BMW and Volkswagen, together with ChargePoint, announced an initiative to create express charging corridors on the east and west coasts of the US. In the initial phase,… Read more »
BMW buys Super Bowl ad for i3
BMW will promote its i3 electric city car to the most massive of mass markets – the Super Bowl. The Bavarian automaker has purchased a 60-second spot that will air during the first quarter of the game. “As one in three Americans will tune in to watch the Super Bowl, we are thrilled to use… Read more »
Toyota opens up its fuel cell patents; BMW will also research FCVs
Taking a page from Tesla’s book, Toyota plans to make some 5,680 patents on fuel cell technologies available royalty-free. The motivation appears to be much the same – just as Tesla hopes to encourage other automakers to produce battery EVs, Toyota wants to “open the door to the hydrogen future” and “spur development and introduction… Read more »
BMW i3: “The most advanced vehicle on the planet” taken apart and reverse-engineered
The BMW i3 incorporates several extremely innovative features (as we noted in our August 2013 cover story), from its carbon fiber “life module” to its bottom-mounted battery pack to its unique optional range extender. In a recent Forbes article and accompanying video, Sandy Munro calls it “the most advanced vehicle on the planet…as revolutionary as… Read more »
