BMW logo In a joint factory in China, the E-Mini will be produced by BMW and e-cars from Great Wall. (Photo: AFP) Hong Kong The construction of a joint work of BMW with the Chinese manufacturer Great Wall for electric cars in China encounters obstacles. It is uncertain whether the joint venture will receive regulatory… Continue reading Joint venture: Approval for joint venture of BMW and Great Wall uncertain
Tag: BMW
Beyond The Bus: Proterra Repackages Its Electric Transit Tech To Power Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicles – Forbes
Proterra is working with Daimler’s Thomas Built Buses unit to supply battery-powered models for schools. Proterra Proterra, a maker of electric transit buses that may be heading for an IPO, has set up a new division to sell its batteries, motors and other components for use in commercial trucks, sanitation vehicles and a range of… Continue reading Beyond The Bus: Proterra Repackages Its Electric Transit Tech To Power Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicles – Forbes
EV startup NIO sold its Formula E racing team
Chinese EV startup NIO has sold the majority stake in its Formula E all-electric racing series team, according to longtime motorsports journalist Sam Smith. The company will remain a sponsor, a person familiar with the sale tells The Verge, but Chinese motorsports promotion company Lisheng Racing bought the stake and will run the team’s operations… Continue reading EV startup NIO sold its Formula E racing team
Crisis of the German automotive industry: Schaeffler, Bosch, Aumann – German automotive suppliers in need
picture alliance / dpa Cylindrical roller bearings from Schaeffler: Not only Schaeffler is suffering from the radical change in the automotive industry. Bosch, Leoni, Conti, Aumann, Infineon and BASF are also preparing for difficult times Trade war, weak demand, farewell to internal combustion engine: The German auto industry is in its most difficult phase for… Continue reading Crisis of the German automotive industry: Schaeffler, Bosch, Aumann – German automotive suppliers in need
Demands for higher taxation: Front against SUV in Germany is growing
In view of the ongoing SUV boom, the Federal Environment Agency has pleaded for more expensive vehicles with high CO2 emissions for more climate protection. “We have to find measures to promote climate-friendly mobility,” said the President of the Federal Environment Agency, Maria Krautzberger, the German Press Agency. A proposal of the Federal Environmental Agency… Continue reading Demands for higher taxation: Front against SUV in Germany is growing
BMW reveals steering wheel for self-driving iNext electric SUV
Once cars are able to drive themselves, drivers—er, occupants—shouldn't need steering wheels to control them.
Yet when BMW teased a new picture of its planned self-driving, electric iNext SUV last month, the photo showed nothing more than a steering wheel—which itself is not even round.
BMW says that in the iNext the driver is no longer required to take care of the task of driving but can still actively take command at any time. When drivers need to take over from the automated system, the off-center octagonal wheel will help drivers identify where it's pointed.
With the hub below center, it leaves more room for those in the driver's seat to slide in and out—and potentially to open a book or boot up a tablet in their laps. The company says the large opening at the top will also make it easier to see the gauges, although it's not really clear what they'll need to see when the car is driving itself.
BMW says the design was inspired by racing cars. It's flat at the top and bottom with curved hand rests at the sides. Fiber optics in the wheel will illuminate sections in different colors to indicate when the car can drive itself and when drivers need to retake the “wheel.”
BMW Vision iNext concept
The iNext is a large electric SUV that is scheduled to debut in 2022 as one of the most advanced cars in BMW's new round of 13 electric vehicles expected to debut by 2023. When it arrives it could be known as the i5 or the i7.
As BMW's first planned self-driving car, the company experimented with lounge seating and other new interior ideas for the iNext concept car.
BMW curved display in iNext SUV
Last month, the company teased pictures of the car's curved touch-screen display perching on the edge of the dashboard like the center screen of the Tesla Model 3.
It's designed to mimic the latest curved EV screens for more seamless entertainment while on the road. The touch screen will also monitor trip parameters and let drivers know when they need to take over and when they can let the car do the driving.
With all this new technology, the iNext may be on track to become BMW's first “ultimate riding machine.”
Pininfarina-kissed Karma GT plug-in hybrid heading to Monterey Car Week
Gone is the Joker grin, as well as the walrus mustache.
The new Karma GT by Pininfarina will show off its much sleeker facelift at Monterey Car Week next weekend in California.
The GT by Pininfarina, which made its first appearance at the Shanghai auto show in April, is a two-door coupe version of the Karma Revero sedan. The Revero itself is an updated Fisker Karma, built by the successor company (Karma), with a new engine, a new battery pack, and a new look for 2020.
The coupe is the first fruit of a new collaboration between Karma and classic Italian design house Pininfarina. It puts forward a much simpler look, with narrow headlights, a flowing, curved bumper, and more conventional air intakes above the splitter beneath.
Karma GT by Pininfarina concept
Longer doors give the coupe more graceful proportions, and with its tiny back seat, the Revero loses little in practicality for the sacrificed rear doors. A contrasting black roof pulls the proportions together and finishes it off in a sleek arc.
Like the updated Revero GT, the GT by Pininfarina will use a turbocharged 3-cylinder engine from BMW along with a 28-kilowatt-hour battery pack that is expected to deliver electric range in the neighborhood of 65 miles before the 3-banger has to fire up. The combination is expected to generate 536 horsepower and acceleration of less than 4 seconds.
Karma has not confirmed whether it will produce the GT by Pininfarina, but is working on a new electric SUV, which it says will arrive in 2021.
Analysis: Harald Krüger leaves a legacy at BMW with dark sides
Harald Kruger The CEO retires after 27 years at BMW. (Photo: Sepp Spiegl) Munich is two weeks Harald Kruger still BMW-Chef, the 16th of August is his last working day. Before his designated successor Oliver Zipse the Transactions in the corporate headquarters takes over, Harald Krüger took stock on Thursday. over the first half of… Continue reading Analysis: Harald Krüger leaves a legacy at BMW with dark sides
Analysis: Harald Krüger leaves an ambiguous legacy at BMW
Harald Kruger The CEO retires after 27 years at BMW. (Photo: Sepp Spiegl) Munich is two weeks Harald Kruger still BMW-Chef, the 16th of August is his last working day. Before his designated successor Oliver Zipse the Transactions in the corporate headquarters takes over, Harald Krüger took stock on Thursday. over the first half of… Continue reading Analysis: Harald Krüger leaves an ambiguous legacy at BMW
BMW boss urges Boris Johnson to abandon no-deal Brexit
BMW German carmaker’s CEO offers to travel to London to deliver message to PM saying ‘listen to business’ The new MINI electric car at the group plant in Cowley, near Oxford. BMW says a no-deal Brexit risks the jobs of the factory’s 4,500 staff. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images The boss of BMW has urged Boris… Continue reading BMW boss urges Boris Johnson to abandon no-deal Brexit