BMW News

  • 2014 BMW i3 (German-market version), Amsterdam, Oct 2013

    With the 2014 BMW i3 battery-electric car now being delivered to its first buyers, and the range-extended i3 REx version to follow within several weeks, BMW is at last in the business of selling electric cars in volume. And that, argues one financial analyst, may pose the most direct threat yet to Tesla Motors, the Silicon Valley startup carmaker that has now made roughly 40,000 Model S all-electric luxury sedans and is now selling them in North America, Europe, and China. MORE: First 2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Delivered To Buyer, In Boston The argument by Kristina Church of Barclays...

  • 2014 BMW i3 hits the race track
    2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Online Configurator Now Live

    As the first customers take delivery of their new BMW i3 electric cars, it's time for the pre-launch hype to disappear and let sales do the talking. The hype isn't hard to understand though--BMW is far outside its comfort zone with the i3, yet has come out with a product that looks, and is...

  • First delivery of 2014 BMW i3 electric car, to Tufts professor Charles Rabie in Boston, May 2014
    First 2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Delivered To Buyer, In Boston

    As of Friday, May 2, it's official: the 2014 BMW i3 electric car is now on sale in the U.S. In a small ceremony inside the BMW of Boston dealership, the first retail buyer of an i3 took delivery of his keyfob yesterday afternoon. DON'T MISS: 2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Rated At 81 Miles, 124 MPGe He...

  • 2014 BMW i3 (German-market version), Amsterdam, Oct 2013
    2014 BMW i3 Range-Extended Model Gets Full $2,500 CA Rebate For Electric Cars

    It's clearly the week for news about the new and distinctive 2014 BMW i3 electric car. Yesterday, as the first cars arrived at dealers, we learned that it was rated at 81 miles of range (less than a 2014 Nissan Leaf's 84 miles), but operates at an unparalleled efficiency of 124 MPGe. Then, late...

  • 2014 BMW i3 (German-market version), Amsterdam, Oct 2013
    2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Rated At 81 Miles, 124 MPGe: BREAKING

    Well, the numbers are in, courtesy of a quickly-photographed window sticker, and now we know the range and efficiency ratings for the 2014 BMW i3 electric car. The EPA-rated range is 81 miles, and its efficiency is a record-breaking 124 MPGe combined (138 MPGe city, 111 MPGe highway). ALSO SEE...

  • 2015 BMW i8, test drive in greater Los Angeles area, Apr 2014
    2015 BMW i8: Sexy Plug-In Hybrid Sport Coupe, Our First Drive

    Could the 2015 BMW i8 sports coupe, coming this summer, do for plug-in hybrids what the Tesla Model S did for battery-electric vehicles? That is, could the sleek, sexy, attention-luring coupe with doors that open like insect wings make plug-in hybrids...sexy? ALSO READ: Chevy Volt: How It Really...

  • 2014 BMW i3 (German-market version), Amsterdam, Oct 2013

    With deliveries of the first 2014 BMW i3 battery-electric cars now just days away, BMW has busily been training service personnel and dealership staff on its new and radical design. And an informed post on BMWBlog by a dealership employee who went through the multi-day course offers some new information about the car and its capabilities DON'T MISS: 2014 BMW i3: First Drive Of BMW's Radical New Electric Car Longtime i3 enthusiast and New Jersey dealership employee Manny Antunes has steadily been offering details about the i3 and its optional REx range-extending two-cylinder engine as that...

  • 2014 BMW i3
    2014 BMW i3 Electric-Car Production Rises To Meet Strong Demand

    BMW is on track to build twice as many i3 electric cars in 2014 as it originally planned.

  • BMW Concept X5 eDrive at 2014 New York Auto Show
    BMW Concept X5 eDrive Updated For New York Auto Show (Photos)

    BMW's X5 eDrive plug-in hybrid isn't due in production form until 2015, but the German automaker has unveiled an updated version of the Concept X5 eDrive at the New York Auto Show. First shown at last September's Frankfurt Auto Show, the latest Concept displays a host of small refinements to bring...

  • BMW X5 e-Drive plug-in hybrid prototype, test drive, Woodcliff Lake, NJ, April 2014
    BMW X5 Plug-In Hybrid Prototype: We Drive Future Electric SUV

    They're not here yet, but in less than two years, U.S. buyers will have a choice of at least three plug-in hybrid SUV models to choose from. Now, we've driven a prototype version of one of them: the BMW X5 e-Drive, which will be shown as an updated concept car at this week's New York Auto Show...

  • 2014 BMW i3 (German-market version), Amsterdam, Oct 2013
    2014 BMW i3: Polarizing Looks, Average Range--Can It Succeed?

    Most of the world's truly significant cars have been striking, even polarizing, designs. But some unusual, even polarizing, designs have been colossal failures. And it remains unclear which category the 2014 BMW i3 will fall, in the different global markets in which BMW is selling it. DON'T MISS...

  • 2014 BMW 535d xDrive, Catskill Mountains, Feb 2014
    2014 BMW 535d xDrive Diesel Sedan: Fuel Economy Drive Review

    For 2014, BMW offers diesel engines in its three sedan lines, and now we've spent a long weekend with the mid-size 5-Series sedan fitted with the fuel-efficient engine. Given the depth-of-winter test schedule, its xDrive all-wheel-drive system was very welcome--and almost a necessity for our...

  • Toyota FT-1

    BMW has announced more details of the hybrid sports car project it's developing in conjunction with Toyota, confirmed last year. While the two vehicles will be very different in terms of styling and execution, BMW will rely on hybrid technology developed by Toyota for the vehicle--specifically, technology forged in the crucible of Le Mans endurance racing. Autocar has revealed both cars will use supercapacitors as energy storage in the hybrid system, a technique directly influenced by Toyota's Le Mans Prototype sports car program. The benefit of supercapacitors over typical lithium-ion...

  • 2015 BMW i8, 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show
    2015 BMW i8 Production Starts, Final Specs Released For Plug-In Hybrid Supercar

    The 2015 BMW i8 is one of this year's most eagerly-anticipated cars, but there's not long to wait now as the first examples begin to roll from the production line. The German automaker has also confirmed final specification details for the European market, including its official performance and...

  • BMW 2-Series Active Tourer, 2014 Geneva Motor Show
    2014 BMW 2-Series Active Tourer: Live Photos From Geneva Show

    Let's get any confusion out of the way: The new BMW 2-Series Active Tourer is completely unrelated to the new BMW 2-Series. BMW has chosen the name to differentiate the new front-wheel drive hatchback from the 1-Series sold overseas, and partly, we suspect, because 1.5 or 2.5 Series would sound...

  • 2014 BMW i3 (German-market version), Amsterdam, Oct 2013
    Not All BMW ActiveE Drivers Moving To BMW i3, Poll Finds

    BMW ActiveE drivers question the i3's price and practicality.

  • 2015 BMW i8, 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show
    2015 BMW i8: Sexy Plug-In Hybrid Sport Coupe Coming Later This Year

    With awareness of the 2014 BMW i3 battery-electric car starting to rise--it will arrive at dealers in late April or early May--it's sometimes easy to forget that BMW has a second plug-in car following close behind. And unlike the i3, whose looks are controversial, there's very little debate over...

  • 2014 BMW i3 hits the race track
    2014 BMW i3 Gets CA Carpool-Lane Access: Battery Only, So Far

    As expected, the 2014 BMW i3 electric car has been awarded its "white sticker," the coveted permission to drive in High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes with only one occupant on California's crowded freeways. The range-extended version of the i3, however, has not yet appeared on the list--and there remains...

  • 2014 BMW i3 hits the race track

    Early adopters, ecology-minded citizens and, increasingly, drivers who want very low running costs are now buying plug-in electric cars. That much we know. But many have reported frustrations at the dealership, from a lack of interest to salespeople who actively steer them away from electrics toward gasoline cars. MORE: Many Car Dealers Don't Want To Sell Electric Cars: Here's Why Now, a new maker--BMW--is preparing to tackle those challenges for a radical new battery-electric car that it expects to sell globally in high volumes. How's that going in the U.S.? So far, it appears, dealer...

  • 2014 BMW i3 (German-market version), Amsterdam, Oct 2013
    2014 BMW i3 Electric-Car Orders Limited To Single Trim Level (For 3 Months)

    The 2014 BMW i3 electric car will only be offered in Launch Edition trim for its first 3 months on sale.

  • 2014 BMW i3
    BMW Advertises i3 And i8 Electric Cars On Olympics Broadcasts

    The Winter Olympic games in Sochi, Russia, are now underway, and official partner BMW is using the games to promote its two plug-in offerings, the i3 and i8. Three different commercials will be broadcast during NBC's coverage of the games, focusing on different aspects of the BMW-i lineup. One...

  • 2015 BMW X3
    2015 BMW X3 Crossover Adds Diesel AWD Model, Other Updates

    The BMW X3 sport-utility vehicle will add a diesel engine option for 2015 to the two gasoline engines now offered, part of a mid-cycle refresh for BMW’s compact crossover. The new diesel X3 gives BMW a direct competitor for the new 2014 Audi Q5 TDI, and the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250...

  • 2014 BMW 7-Series
    2014 BMW 740Ld xDrive: Turbodiesel Added To Largest BMW Sedan

    Big cars with adequate gas mileage are hard to come by, but one of the best options at the moment is diesel power. At its best, the BMW 7-Series is a bit of a gas-guzzler. With a turbocharged, 3.0-liter inline six, the best it can attain is 29 mpg highway. Throw in a diesel engine though and it...

  • 2014 BMW i3 (German-market version), Amsterdam, Oct 2013
    2014 BMW i3 Range Extender: No White CA Carpool-Lane Sticker, Here's Why

    Incentives help drive the purchase of plug-in electric cars, which remain unfamiliar and expensive to many first-time buyers. But a recent article on The Street may have caused some confusion over which incentives will be granted to BMW's first electric car, the i3, when it goes on sale this...

News First Drives Electric Cars Hybrids Guides Green Life