BMW News Articles
BMW Moves Methodically Toward Electric Cars
Active E, an electric 1-series, is the next text platform for a BMW electric car. One step at a time—slowly but surely—BMW is developing the knowledge and capacity to deliver a small all-electric car by 2013. In 2009, the company began leasing an electric two-passenger version of the Mini Cooper to about 600 drivers in [...]BMW: Green Focus For The Future
Today BMW said it is entering the second phase of its tech-intensive “Efficient Dynamics” strategy to meet planned European regulations of 95 grams CO2 per kilometer average across car fleets for 2020 and to satisfy new U.S. CO2 targets for 2025. “Now we have a clear focus for the year 2020” said Dr. Norbert Reithofer, [...]BMW to make petrol power optional for i3, integral for i8
Last week BMW announced it would launch an optional range-extending engine to its carbon-fiber-reinforced-plastic bodied, i3 electric city car, due in Germany by 2013. This news comes just around three months after Volt lead engineer Frank Weber was hired away by BMW, and talk then was they were thinking of creating more range-extended vehicles. At [...]BMW i8 Spy Photo Reveals Unusual Doors
BMW’s plug-in hybrid i8 looks like it will feature innovative doors suitable for the avant-garde car, according to spy photos borrowed from our sister publication, AutoGuide. The main difference looks like hinge placement, which allows the doors to open upwards and twist which should ensure they are fully out of the way upon entering and [...]BMW Broadens Urban Mobility Horizons With New Car-Share Venture
BMW says it will launch a new joint car-sharing service with the German car rental company, Sixt AG. Starting in Munich and Berlin in 2011, BMW says the venture is planned to expand internationally, offering premium vehicles and a range of supporting services that the companies say will be the first of a kind for [...]Hollywood Pushes for Fuel Cell Cars
Perhaps the only time you’ve heard about fuel cell vehicles is when Hollywood stars roll up to the red carpet. A star with a green streak is more than happy to lend his or her name to the cause of emission-free motoring, and car companies will do what’s necessary to promote their forward-thinking advanced technologies. [...]BMW to Offer Battery-Powered Eco-Car for U.S.
Norbert Reithofer, BMW CEO, said the company will likely “make a battery-powered ecologically compatible car for the U.S. market” with a target launch date of 2012. Details beyond that general plan are sketchy. The initiative was spawned by the automaker’s status in the American car market after 2012, when new CAFE standards begin to take [...]Hybrid Car Math, German Style
German carmakers may sing the praises of hybrids when unveiling a new concept at a major auto show, but their tune changes about hybrid cars when they gather for an industry insiders’ event. The Germans almost unanimously maintain their long-held belief that hybrids just don’t add up when compared with diesels and next-generation gasoline vehicles. [...]BMW Clean Diesels Earn Tax Credit
Two BMW diesel vehicles, the 335d sedan and the X5 xDrive35d crossover, are now qualified for the federal “Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicle Tax Credit.” Buyers of the 335d will be eligible for up to $900 in tax credits, while those purchasing the X5 can qualify for as much as $1,800 from the IRS. [...]Mini Electric Car Drivers: BMW “Botched” Program
As we reported last month, BMW has encountered several problems with its program to evaluate the all-electric Mini E. The program continues to stumble as a growing number of volunteers—who are leasing the Mini E for $850 a month for a year—are going public with their issues. The