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BMW i8 demand already exceeding planned production volume

With the completion of the development work and final preparations for production at the BMW Group plant in Leipzig, the launch of the BMW i8 approaches its peak. Delivery of the first customer cars will start in June 2014, beginning with the main European markets.

Beforehand, special public events will be held in various regions all over the world to meet the enormous interest in the BMW i8. For this purpose BMW i agents will be equipped with separate demonstration vehicles. The start of series production of customer vehicles will commence in April. Customers have already been able to place pre-orders for the BMW i8 in all major markets since autumn 2013.

However, demand for the BMW i8 is already exceeding the planned production volume during ramp-up.

Further improvements to the BMW i8 specifications
In parallel to the completion of the statutory type approval the BMW engineers were also able to achieve a further improvement of key driving performance and fuel consumption data. Thanks to its novel powertrain concept BMW eDrive in plug-in hybrid configuration, the i8 combines a 0–100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time of 4.4 seconds with an EU test cycle average fuel consumption of 2.1 litres/100 km (134.5 mpg imp) and CO2 emissions of 49 g/km. The related electricity consumption was measured at 11.9 kWh per 100 km .

Every-day fuel economy substantially better than all conventional sports car concepts
Although the results achieved in the EU test cycle allow for quick comparisons with other vehicles and despite their relevance ​​for a favourable taxation in many countries, the BMW i8 engineers hat a particular focus on low fuel consumption in real life.

As a result the BMW i8 shows extraordinary efficiency not only in standardized testing procedures, but also in the practice of everyday traffic:

In typical everyday commuting, with the battery fully charged at the beginning, the BMW i8 can return a fuel consumption below 5 litres/100 km (more than 56 mpg imp) around town. If the commute includes extra-urban or motorway driving less than 7 litres (more than 40 mpg imp) are achievable.. Even in longer-distance operation at higher speeds, drivers can keep their average fuel consumption below 8 litres/100 km (more than 35 mpg imp). Overall, the fuel consumption of the plug-in hybrid model therefore works out around 50 per cent better than that of conventionally powered sports car models.

World’s first production car with laser light.
Introduction of the optional BMW laser headlights is scheduled for autumn 2014, when the BMW i8 will become the world’s first production car to offer this innovative lighting technology. BMW laser headlights are around 30 per cent more energy-efficient than the BMW i8’s standard LED headlights and provide considerably more powerful road illumination, with a range of up to 600 metres. Highly concentrated beams of light from high-performance laser diodes act on a fluorescent phosphor material inside the headlight, which projects a sharply focused beam of light onto the road. The laser headlights produce a light similar to natural daylight and are therefore always easy on the eye.

BMW eDrive: Sports car powertrain of the future.
The BMW i8’s plug-in hybrid system comprises a 170 kW/231 hp, 320 Nm (236 lb-ft) three-cylinder petrol engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo technology and a 96 kW/131 hp, 250 Nm (184 lb-ft) hybrid synchronous electric motor. The BMW eDrive system also includes a lithium-ion high-voltage battery (with a usable capacity of 5,2 kWh) and intelligent energy management that uses the combined output of 266 kW/362 hp to provide breathtaking performance and maximum efficiency, while always taking into account the driving situation and driver requirements. The excellent balance between driving pleasure and fuel economy is aided by a low vehicle weight of 1,485 kg (DIN kerb weight) and an unusually good drag coefficient (Cd) for a sports car of 0.26.

In zero-emission all-electric mode, the BMW i8 has a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph) and a range of 37 kilometres (23 miles) within the EU test cycle. Depending on whether the plug-in hybrid sports car’s lithium-ion battery is recharged at a household power socket or BMW i Wallbox, or at a public charging station, charging times range from less than two up to three hours. In Sport mode the BMW i8 offers mid-range acceleration from 80 to 120 km/h (50 to 75 mph) in 2.6 seconds. The electronically governed top speed is 250 km/h (155 mph).

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Mercedes to build all-electric S-Class Sedan

At the Geneva Motor Show, TopGear grabbed a few moments with the chief of Merc's large cars, Dr Uwe Ernstberger, who confirmed to us that while an electric S-Class isn't really a correct fit for now, "a complete electric car will be done in the future."

But, it sounds like Mercedes Benz are a bit behind on battery technology "We have to work on the capacities of the batteries to get a better package in the car," Dr Ernstberger said. "Because you do not want to lose all the comfort features of an S-Class for transporting a battery only.

"First of all we'll have the plug-in hybrid, where you can drive between 25km to 30km on electric power only. We want to use a battery to support electric driving in a closed city like London, and we use the combustion engine for driving outside the city."

So it looks like Mercedes will join BMW, who are considering a 5 series EV, in working on a large battery only luxury sedan to compete with the Tesla Model S while Audi go after Tesla's Model X with their own 600 km range battery only luxury Q8 e-tron SUV.

Source: Top Gear

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Test Driving the BMW i3 with the Life360 app [VIDEO]

Mashable reporting from SXSW 2014 on a test drive of the all-electric BMW i3.

The soon-to-be-released EV comes pre-loaded with Life360 software, an app designed to let families find each other.

This video also includes the world's lamest attempt at a donut in an EV.

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Amsterdam Taxi Co First to run all-electric Nissan e-NV200

Taxi Electric will be the first private taxi company to enjoy the new 100 percent electric Nissan e-NV200 taxi to its green-energy-fuelled, zero-emission fleet.

The combination of Nissan's innovative zero-emission technology, in the form of the 100 percent electric Nissan LEAF and Taxi Electric's ground-breaking city transportation model have been a recipe for success since the start of operation in 2011. Now the two companies have teamed up again to build on this success and take the next step forward- introducing the game-changing all-electric Nissan e-NV200 taxi this summer.

Taxi Electric, based in Amsterdam operate a fleet of 25 Nissan LEAF vehicles and were the first private taxi service to switch to a fleet of 100% electric taxis in November 2011. The Dutch company's fleet of Nissan LEAF's have now amassed a trouble-free 1.5 million km in taxi operations- clear proof of the electric vehicle's high quality and reliability.

Andy Palmer, EVP Nissan said: "Taxi Electric was one of the first electric taxi companies in the world, and I've been impressed with their progress since their launch two years ago. They were the first to prove that zero-emission taxis - in the form of Nissan LEAFs - are a viable alternative. They have covered an astonishing distance in their fleet in such a short time and have shown just how reliable our electric technology is in a demanding environment. Their pioneering spirit closely matches ours and we are certain they will continue their success with the ground-breaking Nissan e-NV200."

Ruud Zandvliet, founder of Taxi Electric added: "Two years ago we started with 10 Nissan LEAF. Each of these travelled well over 100,000 km and proved to be extremely reliable. Since last summer demand for our taxis is growing rapidly which allowed us to double our fleet. We are very excited about the e-NV200 as it is designed to be a taxi. This will improve our offering and open new business opportunities for us."

Taxi Electric will not be alone in making the Nissan e-NV200 part of their taxi fleet, with the city of Barcelona having signed a memorandum of understanding with Nissan to promote it as a taxi for the Spanish region. Global production of the Nissan e-NV200 begins in May this year, with sales starting in the summer.

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City of Dalian Places Order for 1,200 BYD Electric Buses

1200 zero-emission, electric buses made by BYD Company Ltd will soon hit the streets of China’s “Bright Northern Pearl”, Dalian.

Dalian’s municipal government has signed a cooperative agreement with global electric vehicle and battery leader, BYD. The agreement stipulates the purchase of 600 BYD electric buses in 2014 and another 600 in 2015, totaling 1200 units.

BYD took the opportunity at the signing event to announce the opening of a new electric bus manufacturing facility in the Dalian Huayuankou Economic Zone to service the growing needs of northern China. The agreement also mentions a conversion initiative of more than 50% of new purchased taxis in Dalian to new energy vehicles in support of the “new energy vehicles promotion and local environment improvement” initiative.

At the event with Liaoning Province Governor Zhenggao Chen, BYD Founder and CEO Chuanfu Wang introduced company milestones, R&D capabilities and products including the electric bus and fully electric e6 SUV being used worldwide in fleet applications. He also took the chance to talk about BYD’s latest consumer offering – the break-through, plug-in-hybrid, Qin.

Chairman Wang highlighted operational statistics of the BYD electric fleets now totaling over 175 million Km traveled (~111 million miles in revenue service) and operating in many cities including recent projects in London, England and New York City. A key message from the BYD Chairman was that this technology is not just environmentally friendly, but very efficient and profitable for the operators as witnessed in the Shenzhen fleets.

Zhenggao Chen, Governor of Liaoning province, expressed his view that BYD is a pioneer in the aspect of new energy vehicles, and is confident BYD will seize the opportunity to develop and keep mastering the core technologies for new energy vehicles to keep winning the war combating poor air quality.

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Toyota Launch 3 wheeler i-Road on public roads in Japan [VIDEO]

Residents of Toyota City, Japan, might be wondering what they just saw on the street. If it had three wheels and was leaning around a corner, it was the "i-Road", Toyota's ultra-compact all-electric, all-fun concept.

On Sunday, the i-Road, which weighs a mere 300 kg and is less than 90 cm wide, was let loose on public roads at an event to mark its introduction into "Ha:mo", Toyota's optimized urban transport system. Soon, even more i-Roads will be zooming around Toyota city when they are made available to residents at vehicle-sharing stations. And later this year the lucky residents of Grenoble, France, will also be able to have some three-wheeled fun, thanks to a vehicle-sharing project that will last until 2017.

Besides being an absolute blast to drive, how could the i-Road actually help you out? Well, picture the following:

You just got off work. You get a phone call. You need to get across town, pronto, because your wife just went into labor. But your car is in the shop, there's no time to call a taxi, and your co-workers with cars are stuck doing overtime. Oh, and it's raining.

What do you do?

In comes the i-Road to save the day. Luckily, there's a Toyota EV-sharing station by your office. Cool as a cucumber, you use your smartphone to plan your route: i-Road to the station 5 km away, and train straight to the hospital. You book the i-Road, and within a couple minutes you're weaving smoothly through the rush-hour gridlock. You get to the train station right on time, and, since the i-Road has a closed canopy, you didn't even wet your carefully groomed hair. Day saved, all thanks to the i-Road.

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General Motors to introduce second-generation Chevrolet Volt hybrid in 2015

General Motors is reportedly preparing to introduce its second-generation Chevrolet Volt hybrid sometime in 2015.

The company has developed a new front-wheel-drive hybrid platform for the redesigned model, however it is not expected to feature drastic alterations to the current body style, unnamed industry sources have told Edmunds.

"It is different, but not drastically different," the insider said. "Just really a bit of a styling change to it."

With their main competitor Toyota now offering an entire range of hybrids which account for 28% of all Toyota and Lexus sales and the Prius being the top selling car in California for the past two years, will we finally see GM expand the range to include the Volt MPV which GM revealed way back in 2010?

Former GM CEO Dan Akerson early last year promised that the next Volt will be significantly lighter than the current iteration, with a list price likely around $30,000 to $33,000. The company already dropped the retail price to $34,995 (including $810 destination fee) for the 2014 model year, however a further discount would help the hybrid compete against plug-in offerings from Toyota, Nissan and Ford.

The current Volt provides up to 38 miles of electric-only range before the 1.4-liter four-cylinder generator kicks in. Lower weight will likely bring improvements to electric range and gasoline consumption, though GM has yet to publicly confirm any specifics.

The second-generation model is expected to be launched for the 2016 model year.