BMW manufactures its electric vehicles, the i3 and i8, at its plant in the city of Leipzig, Germany. Yesterday, the automaker delivered 50 all-electric white i3’s to the municipality for city employees to use under 2-year leases.
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BMW debuted the i8 with ‘Laser Lights’ in the U.S. at the 2015 LA Auto Show last week. The ‘Laser Light’ option was available in Europe since the introduction of the i8 in 2014, but the FDA has been stalling the feature the in the U.S. until now.
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Last month we reported on comments made by BMW CEO Harald Krüger about the BMW i3 getting a new battery pack with more range in 2016. Now we learn through an article coming out of Autocar yesterday that sources close to BMW are saying that the new battery pack should enable “up to 124 miles of range on a single charge” and be available as a retrofit to current i3 owners – something Krüger hinted could be possible.
Autocar’s Greg Kable didn’t say on what he is basing his “124 miles” figure, but he compared it to the current range of the i3 which he said is “just under 100 miles”. This means he is working with the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) which is not very accurate in predicting real world range.
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A major new partnership between Blink, BMW, ChargePoint, Nissan and EVgo was announced today at the LA Auto show. The five partners created the ROEV association with the goal to access all 3 charging networks with a single account.
Between them Blink, ChargePoint and EVgo operate more than 17,500 electric vehicle charging stations or about 91% of all stations in the US.
Full press release below:
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BMW is expanding its “ChargeNow DC Fast” program in partnership with eVgo by installing 500 more DC fast charging stations across 25 U.S. markets. eVgo already installed 100 stations throughout California last year as part of the ChargeNow DC Fast program and now the company will add 50 stations (~2 in each market) before the end of the year under the new deal, which should bring the total to 600 stations by the end of 2018.
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Tonight BMW unveiled through Periscope a new limited edition of the i3 called “Shadow Sport Edition”. It’s exclusive for the U.S. market, where some of features were previously not available. Speaking of availability, as of now BMW is only planning to make 50 units.
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Yesterday, BMW celebrated the two-year anniversary of the launch of the BMW i3 by releasing a few tidbits of information about the vehicle program. The company says its Leipzig plant is assembling 100 units per day and that the i3 is now the third best-selling electric vehicle in the world, but in my opinion the most interesting information BMW released is that over 80 percent of BMW i3 buyers are new customers to the BMW Group.
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This week BMW’s Motorrad division unveiled an all-electric concept version of its RR motorcycle called “eRR”. The company didn’t reveal any specific information about the new concept, which it described as an “experimental vehicle” – meaning it isn’t likely to hit the market anytime soon.
But the group released the following pictures:
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Fisker Automotive, which recently rebranded as Karma Automotive, announced today the signing of a supply agreement with BMW for electric and hybrid powertrains.
Earlier this summer, the company moved to Riverside, California to set up a manufacturing facility and is now aiming to re-launch its plug-in hybrid vehicle in 2016.
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BMW CEO Harald Krüger talked to German magazine Die Zeit earlier this week and confirmed that the company will introduce an upgraded battery pack for next year’s version of its flagship all-electric vehicle, the BMW i3.
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BMW issued its worldwide sales report yesterday and confirmed continued growth for its flagship electric car: the i3. The German automaker delivered 3,361 units in Septemeber, a 86% increase over last year.
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BMW’s DriveNow program, which gives users access to a fleet of BMW i3’s to rent by the minute, is shutting down in San Francisco indefinitely because the automaker and city officials can’t come to an understanding over parking permit regulations according to Auto News.
San Francisco was the only U.S. city in which the program was in place. DriveNow is more active in Europe. BMW recently delivered 400 i3’s in Copenhagen to expand the car-sharing program in Denmark.
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BMW’s MINI brand has been expected to come out with a battery-powered vehicle for a long time now. In 2009, when BMW was first working on its “i” program, which eventually resulted in the i3 and i8, the company produced a few hundreds “MINI E” to test its electric drivetrain technology, but the vehicle never made it to a wide release.
During the Frankfurt Motor Show, Auto Express spoke with MINI’s product management chief Ralph Mahler who didn’t rule out an electric MINI, but it wouldn’t be for anytime soon…
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Yesterday BMW released its US sales report and confirmed 1,710 BMW i3’s delivered in September; a 67% increase over the 1,022 delivered last year and 116% increase over the 792 units sold in August. This is excellent news for the German automaker’s electric lineup especially since i3 sales were flat or even lagging for most of the year.
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Germany is in the spotlight of the automotive industry as the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show is coming to an end. While we are sorting through vehicle registration data, we decided to take a look at the top-selling electric vehicles in Germany. Unsurprisingly, the BMW i3 is the best-selling all-electric vehicle in its home turf, but sales are down 27% year over year while Tesla’s Model S is gaining market shares by growing sales 84% based on registration data.
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In an interview at the Frankfurt Motor Show, BMW’s sales chief Ian Robertson revealed that the company is in the “final stages of consideration” to introduce new all-electric vehicles by expanding its “i” lineup.
Currently BMW only sells the i3 and the i8 under its electric “i” brand, but the German automaker is evaluating a “number of options” to take advantage of the new platform introduced in 2013.
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August was a great month for electric vehicles in Denmark. The European country added 549 EVs to bring the total electric vehicle registrations to 1,994 year-to-date. Only 828 electric vehicles had been registered during the same period last year- making it a 140% increase.
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German automaker BMW is set to introduce 2 new plug-in hybrids at the Frankfurt Motor Show which runs from the 17th to 27th of September. The 2 new models , BMW 225xe and BMW 330e, are based on the automaker’s Series 2 and Series 3, but with BMW’s eDrive powertrain technology.
BMW’s eDrive technology allows the driver to switch between being entirely powered by the battery pack, and being powered by the three-cylinder combustion engine for the 225xe, or four-cylinder engine in the case of the 330e .
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In a report today, Reuters unveiled a new effort from Chinese internet entrepreneurs to bring to market an electric supercar: the NextEV. Chinese tech companies have been vocal lately about jumping in the electric vehicle industry, with companies such as Xiaomi and Alibaba announcing their intention to enter the market.
But the industry seems to have a focus on “supercars”. LeTV, a Chinese tech company offering a Netflix-like service, recently announced its intention to build an all-electric supercar and they are also reportedly heavily financing 2 other electric supercar projects.
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BMW announced the expansion of the DriveNow car sharing program with the introduction of 400 new BMW i3’s coming to Copenhagen. BMW will start delivering the i3’s next month.
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At the moment, electric vehicles are not a burden on the electric grid. The energy demand for electric cars is only a drop in the massive bucket that is the electric infrastructure of developed countries, but it could change fast with the demand for EVs steadily increasing. BMW is one of the rare big automaker embracing the industry’s transition from combustion engines to electric powertrains and the company expects EVs to account for a significant portion of the electricity demand in the future.
To limit the effect of EVs on the grid’s capacity, BMW is testing a program to incentivize BMW i3 owners to charge their cars at specific hours of the day when the demand is low. Last week they launched the initiative under the program: “BMW i ChargeForward”.
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Apple and BMW have engaged in negotiations over Apple’s interest in using BMW’s i3 electric cars as a basis for its own electric car project, according to a new report from German publication…
Updated with Tesla’s Press kit. Overall the update mirrored my predictions pretty well. I will post audio when available.
Model S is the only car on the road that improves with time, thanks to Tesla’s free, over-the-air software updates. With each new update, Tesla adds functionality, enhanced performance, and improved user experience to every Model S.
Today’s announcement of software update 6.2 introduces new features that expand the car’s intelligence which eliminate range anxiety entirely, enhance Model S’s active safety features, and bring Model S closer to having autonomous capabilities.
Our energy and range functions eliminate “range anxiety” and remove the hassle of planning road trips before you embark. By introducing Range Assurance and Trip Planner into Model S’s navigation, long distance travel is now foolproof.
Navigation automatically routes Model S through Tesla’s charging network. Currently 90% of the US population is within 175 miles of a Tesla Supercharger; finding quick and convenient charging has never been easier. Include Tesla Destination Chargers and 95% of the US Population is now within ample range of Tesla’s charging network.
Trip Planner
Model S owners can now take road trips with confidence. Simply select a destination, and Navigation will now automatically route through the appropriate superchargers if charging is needed for your trip. Trip Planner will select a route to minimize driving and charging time. At each supercharger stop, Trip Planner will notify you via the iPhone app when you’ve charged enough to continue on your trip. Android app users can monitor charging needed for the trip via the Charging screen.
Automatic routing along Tesla’s Charging Network
Drivers can choose a final destination and Model S will route them through charging locations automatically. Navigation will display the fastest route to the destination and break the route into legs between Superchargers, displaying anticipated charge times at each station in a simplified list view.
Push Notifications at Superchargers
Model S will notify drivers via the App when they have enough juice to depart for the next Supercharger or their final destination.
Range Assurance
Model S does the thinking for you. By continually monitoring and advising owners when they are at risk of driving beyond the range of reliable charging locations, “range anxiety” is gone. When the warning is triggered, Model S provides a list of Superchargers, Tesla Destination Chargers, and locations where the vehicle has previously charged that are within current range. Drivers then select a charging destination from the list and Navigation will provide turn-by-turn guidance along with the predicted battery energy when you get there.
The new Driver Assistance features in 6.2 are designed to intelligently anticipate and react to potentially dangerous situations. Since the unveiling of autopilot in fall 2014, Tesla has pushed a number of active safety features to Model S via wireless software updates that enhance the safety of Model S and bring Tesla closer to rolling out full autopilot capabilities to vehicles on the road.
Automatic Emergency Braking
This new Collision Avoidance Assist feature automatically engages the brakes to reduce the impact of an unavoidable frontal collision. Automatic Emergency Braking will stop applying the brakes when the driver presses the accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, or sharply turns the steering wheel.
Blind Spot Warning
Blind Spot Warning assists the driver to change lanes safely. When Model S is travelling between 20 mph (30 km/h) and 85 mph (140 km/h) and detects a vehicle in the driver’s blind spot, a white arc will appear on the instrument panel near the bottom of the speedometer. If a collision with the vehicle becomes likely, two red arcs will appear, the steering wheel will vibrate, and the driver will hear a chime.
Valet Mode conveniently and discreetly limits Model S’s driving performance and restricts access to certain settings and personal information. With the touch of a button, owners can place a limit on speed, lock the glove box and frunk, and disable personal information like driver profiles and homelink settings.
The top speed for P85D is now 155 mph (250 km/h).
September 2014 (6.0):
Traffic-based navigation: The model S navigation system now takes real-time traffic conditions into account when determining your route, and estimated travel times are adjusted to reflect traffic. This feature will also continuously monitor traffic while navigating, and re-route if warranted.
Location-based smart air suspension: Useful on roads or driveways that require higher clearance, with this feature, Model S will remember where you select HIGH or VERY HIGH ride heights. The air suspension will then automatically rise at those locations in the future.
Calendar app: Allows drivers to view their phone’s calendar for the current and next day. If a calendar event has a location specified, they will be given the option to navigate to that location. When they have an event on their Calendar that will take place within the next hour, the Model S navigation system will notify them if there is a better route due to traffic, even if they’re not using navigation.
January 2015 (6.1):
Traffic-Aware Cruise Control: When TACC is engaged, Model S will adjust its speed based on the car directly in front of you, decelerating and accelerating as needed.
Forward Collision Warning: Forward Collision Warning will warn you when there is an object in your path and a collision is likely unless the driver takes corrective action.
Auto High Beam: Auto High Beam temporarily switches Model S to low-beam headlights if there is traffic or urban lighting detected in front of the car, such as from an oncoming vehicle or street lights.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5cHMO1xON4#t=106]
The look of this thing is growing on me (when it isn’t orange). Bottom line from this review: The base Model is a deal but the add-ons aren’t worth it.