Electric Cars

The all-electric iX SUV pushes BMW’s controversial styling direction even further forward.
BMW

BMW is charging ahead with even more expansive electric vehicles and increased sustainability efforts, as outlined at its annual conference that kicked off Wednesday in Munich, Germany. The luxury automaker says it expects around 50% of its global sales to be battery-electric vehicles by 2030. Oliver Zipse, chairman of the board, made the following statement: “By the end of 2025, we will have delivered a total of around two million fully-electric vehicles to customers. We will also be growing our sales of fully electric models by well over 50% per year over the next few years — more than 10 times the figure for 2020.” BMW i4 sedanAs part of a broad portfolio of announcements, BMW showed the first images of its new i4 electric sedan and revealed that the model is three months ahead of schedule. Due for production this year, the 4-Series-Gran-Coupe-based i4 is predicted to offer up to 300 miles of range on the US EPA test cycle. The EV’s Munich-based production plant is powered by Bavarian hydroelectric plants. This is part of the automaker’s drive to curb factory emissions 80% by 2030.

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BMW iX SUVPerhaps more importantly, given global sales trends, BMW also unveiled its new iX crossover SUV during the two-day conference. Riding atop a new platform, the iX has been developed on a foundation of greener materials, including greater use of recycled plastics and aluminum, as well as leather tanned via olive leaf extracts and floor mats made from used fishing nets. The all-electric challenger to Tesla’s Model X flagship and Audi’s growing E-Tron range is confirmed to deliver 300 miles of range. It’s expected to arrive in the US in early 2022, carrying a starting price tag of around $85,000. The two-motor iX xDrive50 model will offer in excess of 500 hp and hit 62 mph in under 5 seconds en-route to a governed top speed of 124 mph. Even BMW’s entry-level, single-motor iX xDrive40 will still deliver over 300 horsepower, enabling 0-62mph acceleration runs in just over 6 seconds. It’s not immediately clear, however, whether this less-powerful variant will be offered in North America.While certainly swift, it’s worth noting that neither of these iX models would appear to offer specifications that best Tesla’s Model X Long Range — the SUV’s base model — which delivers an estimated 360 miles of range and hits 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. (It’s worth noting that repeated real-world tests have shown Tesla’s mileage figures to be best-case scenarios while legacy automakers have been conservative in their calculations, routinely overdelivering on range by a substantial margin.)BMW will open US pre-orders for the new iX SUV in July.BMW Neue KlasseAs part of the two-day conference, BMW also confirmed a previously unknown generation of vehicles, the Neue Klasse (or “New Class”) coming from 2025. Boasting new modular powertrains and higher degrees of automated driving, these EVs will incorporate next-generation batteries and software, as well as a “sharply increased” amount of recycled materials, the automaker said in a statement. Details are few, but BMW says the Neue Klasse has “the ultimate aim of matching the range and manufacturing cost of state-of-the-art combustion engines.”It’s also worth noting that Neue Klasse is also the name of a series of groundbreaking BMW models, which began in 1962 with the 1500 sedan.

Mini goes all-in on EVsAs had been rumored, the BMW Group’s Mini brand will transition to be 100% electric “by the early 2030s.” The company’s last new model to debut with a combustion engine will bow in 2025. BMW’s retro-styled small-car city brand has struggled for relevance in recent years, with slipping sales exacerbated by a lack of SUV models. Today, Mini only offers one all-electric model, the low-cost, city-focused Cooper SE, which has been a sales sales bright spot for the brand.BMW still investing in hydrogenWhile BMW’s focus will be on expanding its battery-electric vehicle (BEV) range, the automaker also confirmed plans to release a small series of BMW i Hydrogen NEXT models, though it isn’t clear where those vehicles will be made available, or how. In a press statement, the company noted “we could also imagine it as a production vehicle,” which suggests that the i Hydrogen NEXT might be a part of a pilot program, not a traditionally manufactured vehicle available for purchase or lease. BMW previously showed an X5 SUV-based i Hydrogen NEXT concept with fuel-cell technology developed with Toyota, a brand it’s been working with on the tech since at least 2013.BMW iDrive 8As part of the run-up to its annual conference, BMW also revealed details of its next-generation iDrive 8 infotainment system. The new 5G-capable hardware will arrive first in the automaker’s range of EVs, and it includes an unusual curved display and improved tech, including an avatar-like presence when a user summons the digital voice assistant. The system will bow on the new i4 and iX models.Despite these massive ongoing investments in electrification and digitalization technologies, BMW is boosting profit predictions for 2021 to 6% to 8%, more than double the 2.7% profit return in pandemic-stricken 2020. More

VW’s Unified Battery Cell will form the electric heart of its future models.
Volkswagen
Taking a page from Elon Musk and Tesla’s playbook, on Monday, Volkswagen Group executives outlined the company’s next-generation battery and charging strategy in its first Power Day presentation, a virtual seminar. The German giant detailed plans to move a majority of its forthcoming electric vehicle range to a single next-generation battery format. Dubbed “Unified Battery Cell,” this new prismatic (as opposed a to cylindrical or pouch-style) format will enter production in 2023 and go on to form the heart of 80% of the company’s EVs by 2030. The remaining 20% of production will rely on special chemistries for unique usage cases, including heavy-duty commercial trucks and high-performance models and race cars among them. There is a clear, distinct target for Porsche’s own research and development within VWAG: “Our goal must be to ensure a permanent supply of high-performance cells that fully satisfy our specific requirements for future electrified race cars and electric super sports cars,” said Porsche CEO Oliver Blume.VW’s goal is to cut battery costs by up to 50% in these standard cells, and to ensure up to 95% recyclability, all while increasing range. According to a press release, “Volkswagen intends to gradually reduce the cost of batteries in the entry-level segment by up to 50% and in the volume segment by up to 30%.” As noted by Reuters, it’s not immediately clear what this largely in-house program means for the Volkswagen Group’s existing pouch-style battery partners, which include Korea’s LG and SK Innovation.

VW officials outlined plans for 240 gigawatt hours of battery capacity in six European factories by the end of this decade, including 40 gigawatt-hour plants in Skelleftea, Sweden (coming online in 2023), and in Salzgitter, Germany, in 2025.Consumers will first be able to experience this next-gen battery power in the company’s forthcoming Artemis platform, which is now in development at Audi, another of VWAG’s luxury brands.Bidirectional chargingBeginning in 2022, VW says models built on the company’s MEB architecture will support bidirectional (two-way) charging — that is, the ability to leverage a vehicle’s battery to power external things. That ability includes feeding power back into a home or business in the event of a blackout, or to use as a temporary storage medium to take advantage of lower-cost off-peak electricity rates. Plans call for VW to offer a home energy storage battery to take advantage of this new capability (think: Tesla PowerWall). It is not immediately clear if this two-way capability will be legal throughout the US and Canada — other automakers have announced similar capabilities, only to run into local regulatory red tape.Solid-state battery futureDuring Power Day, VW also confirmed plans to continue pursuing solid-state batteries as its end goal, and the company says that moving to this newly standardized Unified Battery Cell as an intermediate step will help the company’s models move to a liquid-free battery easier in the future. VW is working with its US partner QuantumScape to ready production of solid-state cells for the 2025 timeframe. Volkswagen believes these smaller, lighter and more robust liquid-free cells will enable up to 30% more range while delivering 80% charges in as little as 12 minutes. That’s roughly twice as quick as today’s cutting-edge batteries, which would bring refueling time much closer to parity with gasoline-powered vehicles. Lengthy charge times are seen as a primary stumbling block to EV adoption by many consumers.

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Charging network plansVolkswagen also revealed plans to ramp up its European charging network to 18,000 charge points in the near term — a quintupling of today’s footprint — with partners like BP in the UK, Iberdrola in Spain and Enel in Italy. VW is planning 8,000 150kW high-speed chargers at BP and Aral gas stations, primarily in Germany and the UK. In the US, plans call for 3,500 new fast-charging locations by 2023, and a further 17,000 charge points in China by 2025. Electrify America, the company’s US charging arm, says it is averaging four new network-point installations per week, and it expects to have 800 stations up and running in North America by the end of 2021.In the near term, on the back of its new ID range of EV models that are just now entering dealers worldwide, Volkswagen expects to double global battery electric vehicle sales to become between 6 and 8% of the company’s range of vehicles. The first of these models to be offered in the US and Canada is the ID 4 compact crossover.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a new title at the automaker. In a new regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company revealed that the world’s current second-richest man title has changed to “Technoking of Tesla.”Zach Kirkhorn, Tesla’s chief financial officer, also got a new title on Monday as the company’s “Master of Coin.” The filing notes that in addition to these titles both Musk and Kirkhorn will “also maintain their respective positions as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer.”It was not clear why Musk and Kirkhorn changed their titles. Musk, normally active on social media, has yet to tweet on the change.While Musk hasn’t tweeted, at least for Kirkhorn the change does seem to tie into recent Tesla news. The baroque title adjustment arrives nearly a month after the electric carmaker announced that it would begin accepting Bitcoin as payment, with the company also investing $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency.

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VW’s Unified Battery Cell will form the electric heart of its future models.
Volkswagen
Taking a page out of Elon Musk and Tesla’s playbook, on Monday Volkswagen Group outlined its next-generation battery and charging strategy in its first Power Day presentation, a virtual seminar. The German giant detailed plans to move a majority of its forthcoming electric vehicle range to a single next-generation battery format. Dubbed “Unified Battery Cell,” this new prismatic (opposed to cylindrical or pouch-style) format will enter production in 2023 and go on to form the heart of 80% of the company’s EVs by 2030. The remaining 20% of production will rely on special chemistries for unique usage cases — ultrahigh-performance models (e.g. Porsche models and race cars) and heavy-duty commercial trucks among them. VW’s goal is to cut battery costs by up to 50% in these standard cells, and to ensure up to 95% recyclability. According to a press release, “Volkswagen intends to gradually reduce the cost of batteries in the entry-level segment by up to 50% and in the volume segment by up to 30%.” As noted by Reuters, it’s not immediately clear what this largely in-house program means for the Volkswagen Group’s existing pouch-style battery partners, which include Korea’s LG and SK Innovation.

VW officials outlined plans for 240 gigawatt hours of battery capacity in six European factories by the end of this decade, including 40 gigawatt-hour plants in Skellefteå, Sweden (coming online in 2023), and in Salzgitter, Germany, in 2025.Consumers will first be able to experience this next-gen battery power in the company’s forthcoming Artemis platform, which is now in development at Audi, one of VWAG’s luxury brands.Solid-state battery futureDuring Power Day, VW also confirmed plans to continue pursuing solid-state batteries as its end goal, and the company says that moving to this newly standardized Unified Battery Cell as an intermediate step will help moving to a liquid-free battery easier in the future. VW is working with its US partner QuantumScape to ready production of solid-state cells for the 2025 timeframe. Volkswagen believes these smaller, lighter and more robust cells will enable up to 30% more range while delivering 80% charges in as little as 12 minutes. That’s roughly twice as quick as today’s cutting-edge batteries, which would bring refueling time much closer to parity with gasoline-powered vehicles. Lengthy charge times are seen as a primary stumbling block to EV adoption by many consumers.

Now playing:
Watch this:

Why solid-state batteries are a hot topic for electric…

7:16

Charging network plansVolkswagen also revealed plans to ramp up its European charging network to 18,000 charge points in the near term — a quintupling of today’s footprint — with partners like BP in the UK, Iberdrola in Spain and Enel in Italy. VW is planning 8,000 150kW high-speed chargers at BP and Aral gas stations, primarily in Germany and the UK. In the US, plans call for 3,500 new fast-charging locations by 2023, and a further 17,000 charge points in China by 2025. Electrify America, the company’s US charging arm, says it is averaging four new network-point installations per week, and it expects to have 800 stations up and running in North America by the end of 2021.In the near term, on the back of its new ID range of EV models that are just now entering dealers worldwide, Volkswagen expects to double global battery electric vehicle sales to become between 6 and 8% of the company’s range of vehicles. The first of these models to be offered in the US and Canada is the ID 4 compact crossover.
2022 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo wagon looks so damn cool
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