BMW was an early EV leader with the innovative i3, but later seemed to lose interest. The i3 remains on the market, posting decent but unremarkable sales in Europe and getting an occasional upgrade. Now, after eight years, the next electric Beemer has arrived. BMW delivered the first units of its new i4 EV at… Read more »
Gallium nitride power semiconductor developer GaN Systems has signed a comprehensive capacity agreement with BMW for the company’s GaN power transistors, which are designed to increase the efficiency and power density of critical applications in EVs. GaN Systems will provide capacity for multiple applications in series production. The guaranteed volumes are a building block for… Read more »
Swiss charging station manufacturer Juice Technology has won a contract to supply its JUICE BOOSTER 2 charging solution to BMW Group production lines and the majority of BMW dealerships in Germany. As automakers electrify, they need to upgrade and retrofit their production and servicing facilities to accommodate EVs, and creating a suitable charging infrastructure is… Read more »
When BMW launched the i3 in 2013, the company earned a place in history as an early EV innovator. Since then, the company’s interest in EVs seems to have waned—the once-cutting-edge i3 is now woefully dated, and plans for new electric models seem to be proceeding slowly. However, CEO Oliver Zipse recently told Reuters that… Read more »
Production of BMW’s fifth-generation high-voltage batteries and battery modules for use in the BMW iX and i4 is now underway at the Competence Centre for E-Drive Production in Dingolfing, Germany. At the same time, the company is increasing production capacity for its fifth-generation electric motor, which has been built in Dingolfing for the iX3 since… Read more »
Solid Power, a producer of solid-state EV batteries, has announced a $130-million Series B investment round led by the BMW Group, Ford and Volta Energy Technologies. Ford and BMW have also expanded existing joint development agreements with Solid Power to secure all-solid-state batteries for future EVs. “BMW and Ford now share leading positions in the… Read more »
The BMW Group, Daimler Mobility and bp will each acquire a 33.3% stake in Digital Charging Solutions (DCS), a European developer of digital charging solutions for auto manufacturers and fleet operators. DCS works with OEMs to integrate its charging solutions into vehicle operating systems. The company currently operates charging services for BMW and Daimler, including… Read more »
BMW’s i3 was a highly innovative vehicle when it went on the market in 2013, but to the disappointment of EV enthusiasts, the Bavarian automaker’s interest in electrification soon faded—it was only 7 years later that the company released another EV, the iX3, which still is not on sale in the US. Finally, at the… Read more »
BMW is surely the most charged of the European automakers. Its i3 city car is a native EV that’s earned much admiration for its many innovations. Meanwhile, well-bucked aficionados are buying the i8 super-PHEV as quickly as it rolls off the lines, and the X5 plug-in SUV just made its debut appearance in Shanghai. BMW… Read more »
BMW’s new 3 Series plug-in hybrid prototype combines a four-cylinder TwinPower Turbo gas engine from the new Efficient Dynamics engine family with an electric motor and power electronics based on the eDrive technology used in the i3 and i8. It’s designed to offer performance on a par with the legacy 3 Series six-cylinder model, with… Read more »