On the new electric vehicle front, BMW had nothing to offer since launching the i3 and i8 almost 5 years ago and they are not expected to have a new EV built from the ground up to be electric until the end of the decade.

But they could be releasing updated versions of their current EVs in order to compete with new longer range electric cars coming to market. expand full story

After Zero Motorcycles’ e-bike powertrains being used to power electric jetskis, now BMW’s i3 battery packs are powering electric boats.

The German automaker confirmed today a deal with Torqeedo, a German boat manufacturer, to use their battery pack in a new electric boat powertrains. expand full story

The opinions of people on the BMW i3 seem to be very divided. They either love the car or simply hate it. It is either good or bad. Black or white. Is that accurate though? Can it be placed in a box like that or is there more to this little EV?

I think there is a lot more to this car than meets the eye. The i3 seems to be the only car over a long period of time where BMW actually took a risk and thought outside of the box. BMW went all out and built a car that was entirely new from the ground up. And when I say new, I don’t mean new, like the new 5 series is new. No, I mean new as in using a new approach with new materials, based on a new design and with a new way of propulsion, i.e. electric.

BMW thought way outside of the box and built a very efficient and lightweight electric vehicle. I lease an electric-only i3 from 2015, and over the last so many months I have put more than 10,000 miles on it, driving it all over the NY metro area. I drove it during warm summer days, during torrential downpours and during the Stella snowstorm. By now, I think, I have enough miles under my belt to know (and share) what it is like to daily-drive the BMW i3. The last twelve months have changed the way I see this car and it is anything but simply black or white. Some features, I love and some others I don’t. Read on and find out what it’s like to drive in, and live with, the BMW i3.

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Vattenfall, an important energy company in Europe, unveiled last year a new 2.8 MWh energy storage facility built with batteries from over 100 BMW i3 electric cars.

It was an interesting project since they are using used battery modules from electric vehicles, but now the company has announced a different contract with BMW this week to buy brand new i3 battery packs directly from them for the same reason. expand full story

It has been quite difficult to follow BMW’s position on electric vehicles over the past year. The German automaker’s electric vehicle leadership under ‘BMW i’  left to join a newly formed Chinese EV startup, and they announced having put their EV plans on the “back burner.”

Now comments made by Stefan Juraschek, Vice President of Electric-Powertrain Development at BMW, are giving us a better understanding of the reason why the company is holding back when it comes to EVs. expand full story

You have to give it to BMW for being at the forefront of smart charging programs for electric vehicles. The German automaker has been running several special programs to get more out of an electric car fleet, including offering grid services in California as we recently reported.

This week, BMW announced yet another electric vehicle charging program, BMW Digital Charging Service (DCS), to manage charging sessions in order to save money and get more out of home solar installations. expand full story

At a time when almost all automakers are announcing upgrades to their mid-range electric vehicles under their 2017 models, like VW with the e-Golf or Ford with the Focus Electric, you will not hear about an upgrade to BMW’s i3 since it was actually announced earlier this year – when they introduced their new 33 kWh battery pack upgrade.

It was a welcomed upgrade, but not the next generation design refresh that people have been waiting for. Now sources say that the German automaker is working on a design refresh for the 2018 BMW i3 to be released next year and it will again feature a range increase – up to 50%. expand full story

While automakers like Renault and Mercedes are unveiling new battery pack options and brand new electric vehicle models at the 2016 Paris Motor, BMW is unveiling a new color option for its lineup of electric cars.

It’s kind of disappointing, but to be honest, I find the new paint job to be so stunning that I almost forgive them for not having anything else new on the EV front for the Paris Motor Show. expand full story

After unveiling its ‘Vision NEXT100’ plan, BMW was reportedly “putting electric vehicles on the back burner” in order to focus on self-driving. The company only officially announced a new BMW i8 in 2018, hopefully all-electric this time, and its iNEXT all-electric and autonomous car in 2021. The iNEXT will be based on a concept unveiled earlier this year.

Now a new report on the German automaker’s updated electric vehicle timeline claims to give more insights into vehicle releases over the next 5-6 years, and it is just as disappointing as BMW’s official timeline. expand full story