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☆ BMW's futuristic 'look': In new sedan, drivers can change lanes using just their eyes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —In the new BMW 5-series sedan, unveiled Wednesday by the German luxury automaker, drivers will be able to change lanes on the highway just by looking to the side. The car’s optional Highway Assistant system allows drivers to go long distances on major highways without touching the steering wheel or pedals. This sort of feature is now offered by a number of major automakers, but BMW adds this novel capability: Drivers will be able to change lanes just by looking at one of the outside mirrors. Automated lane changes are possible in many similar systems but, ordinarily, the driver has to request it, or assent to the car’s suggestion for a lane change, by using the turn signal. If the car has not, itself, suggested a lane change, the driver can still request one by tapping the turn signal stalk to indicate which side.

Organizations: CNN, BMW, BMW i5

☆ BMW cars segment sees earnings boost on higher pricing, EV sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A BMW SUV moves down the assembly line at the BMW manufacturing plant in Greer, South Carolina, U.S., October 19, 2022. Inflation and interest rates in key markets are high. The carmaker continues to expect slight growth in Europe, robust sales in the United States, and a stabilising economy in China. BMW's financing and leasing business suffered in line with that of other carmakers like Porsche under persistently high interest rates and price Increases, with the volume of new business dropping 14% and earnings down 6.2%. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Maria SheahanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How to trade Volkswagen and BMW quarterly earnings results based on history
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

German carmakers Volkswagen and BMW are set to announce their first-quarter earnings later today. Similarly, Volkswagen reported significantly increased deliveries for the same period despite weaker business in China, its most important single market. The stock also surpassed the benchmark by 5.4 percentage points a week since the results and 6.5 percentage points a month out under the same scenario. However, its fortunes reverse for the better, with shares outperforming the benchmark after a week since the results 67% of the time. The German company shares beat the DAX by 1, 3, and 8 percentage points over the day, week, and month since the results, respectively, on exceeding expectations.

☆ BMW skids into ice cream melee at Shanghai auto show
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A BMW booth is pictured at the Auto Shanghai show, in Shanghai, China, April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Aly SongSHANGHAI, April 20 (Reuters) - Chinese internet users berated German automaker BMW (BMWG.DE) on Thursday, accusing it of discrimination at the Shanghai auto show amid claims workers at its Mini booth favoured foreign over domestic visitors during an ice cream giveaway promotion. The controversy comes as BMW and fellow German automakers participate in the Shanghai auto show in full force as they fight to stay on top of consumer trends in a country where domestic rivals have been aggressively taking market share. One video showed two Chinese workers telling some local visitors to the Mini stand that the free ice cream had run out, only to offer a tub moments later to a Western attendee. "This has taken away my good feelings towards BMW," said one Weibo commentator.

[1/3] BMW's concept model i Vision Dee is unveiled during an event at the Auto Shanghai show, in Shanghai, China April 18, 2023. While the battery-electric vehicle market share of German automakers in China is rising, it is still miniscule. The EV sales of all four German brands added up to only a quarter of BYD's in 2022. "The Chinese market is no longer as stable for German carmakers as it was," Thomas Luk, partner at management consultancy Kearney, said on the sidelines of the Shanghai show. Many are also adopting direct sales, an approach German automakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz have also said in recent months they are moving towards.

☆ BMW on track for 2023 target despite slight Q1 sales fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] An electric-powered BMW iX xDrive 50 car is seen during a media preview at the Auto Zurich Car Show in Zurich, Switzerland November 3, 2021. By region, BMW only saw sales growth in the United States, with an 11.4% increase to 89,750 car sales. BMW remained confident about its 2023 guidance despite a "challenging business environment", the company said in a statement. "The BMW Group is on track for slight sales growth in the full year 2023," said Pieter Nota, management board member responsible for customer, brands and sales. Electric vehicle sales in BMW's core brand more than doubled in Q1 year on year to 55,979 units.

☆ Volkswagen's Scout unit wins $1.3 bln in incentives for South Carolina factory
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The project could also receive up to $180 million in job development tax credits based on hiring, said South Carolina Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey. In May, VW said it would reintroduce the Scout off-road brand in the United States, offering new electric pickup and sport-utility vehicles. Scout said it hopes to eventually create 4,000 jobs and produce 200,000 Scout vehicles annually. Volkswagen has moved away from cars in the United States. Monday's event was the latest major auto announcement for South Carolina, home to BMW's (BMWG.DE) U.S. operations and its largest plant by volume.

☆ BMW hits earnings target helped by pricing, China consolidation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 9 (Reuters) - BMW's (BMWG.DE) core carmaking business hit its 2022 earnings target, the company said on Thursday, helped by strong pricing and consolidation of its China joint venture. Group revenue rose 28% to 142.6 billion euros ($150.66 billion) versus a Refinitiv SmartEstimate of 141.6 billion. Its autos business reported an 8.6% margin on earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 10.6 billion euros and cash flow of 11.1 billion euros. Almost half of the latter came from a cash contribution from Chinese joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA). BMW said last February it would pay 3.7 billion euros to take majority control of BBA after securing the necessary licence from Beijing, increasing its stake to 75% from 50%.

☆ Carmaker BMW to invest around $870 mln in Mexico in EV push
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Kylie Madry | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Milan Nedeljkovic, BMW’s head of production, and Harald Gottsche, President and CEO at BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosi, shake hands during the announcement of a multimillion dollar expansion at the plant of German automaker BMW in San Luis Potosi, Mexico February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Toya Sarno JordanSAN LUIS POTOSI, Mexico, Feb 3 (Reuters) - German automaker BMW (BMWG.DE) will invest 800 million euros ($866 million) in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi to produce high-voltage batteries and fully electric "Neue Klasse" models, the carmaker said Friday. Gottsche added the Mexico plant was in the process of increasing its solar production on-site and swapping out natural gas for biomethane. Mexico has also increasingly made the push for EVs as it looks to turn half of auto production electric by 2030. ($1 = 0.9236 euros)Reporting by Kylie Madry in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Toya Sarno Jordan in San Luis Potosi; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Phil NobleCOVENTRY, England, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Developing fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) that can go everywhere has proven harder and more expensive than expected, but investors are continuing to fund startups that target simpler self-driving vehicle solutions far removed from pedestrians and other vehicles operated by unpredictable humans. Earlier promises made by robotaxi companies of operating fleets of vehicles by the early 2020s have fallen well short. BMW iVentures has also invested in AV truck technology firm Kodiak Robotics, which managing partner Sage said has adopted a simpler approach to areas like mapping. Construction and agricultural equipment - used off-road in low-traffic environments - has been another growth area for AV startups. U.S. agricultural equipment maker AGCO Corp (AGCO.N), for instance, is using the Palo Alto, California-based startup's software for an experimental automated electric planter.

☆ I was obsessed with my Tesla but Elon Musk convinced me I'd rather drive an electric Mercedes-Benz
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Christine Orita was a loyal Tesla fan for years but recently ditched her Model S for an electric Mercedes-Benz. A 2013 Tesla Model S. AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, FileI took delivery of my car in early 2013. The Mercedes EQS is a superior productI looked at Audi and BMW's electric cars, and their range was just not where I needed it to be. The Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+. I feel so much better to be rid of the Model S.

☆ Elon Musk says his Twitter misadventure has only helped Tesla. Wall Street isn't buying it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Wall Street analysts feel otherwise: They're bullish on Tesla, but think Musk is too distracted. Musk's tweets have gotten him in trouble with shareholders and the courts. Wall Street thinks Twitter is a costly distractionMusk is not wrong in that he and Tesla are reasonably popular on Twitter. But how many of Musk's and Tesla's followers converted to sales based on the content coming from those accounts? As in most things, there's always more to the story — but you can't deny the impact of Musk's Twitter habits, either.

☆ German premium car brands handled supply chain woes better than VW
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] The new hybrid-electric BMW XM is displayed at the BMW manufacturing plant in Greer, South Carolina, U.S., October 19, 2022. Though the fourth quarter provided universal relief for the carmakers, China's extensive lockdowns early in the year were particularly hard on sales volumes. Audi's deliveries fell 3.9% to 1.61 million, with Europe the only region to register marginal growth after an 18.7% jump in German sales. That compared with only a 1% drop in Mercedes-Benz total sales and its 143% leap in deliveries of electric and hybrid vehicles. The Volkswagen brand fared worst year on year, with a 6.8% fall in sales attributed to supply chain issues affecting all model types.

☆ BMW’s first 'color-changing' concept car is here—and the tech could be used in everything from e-readers to smartwatches
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

What if the color of your car could change based on your mood or the weather? That's the idea — or, at least, one of the ideas— behind BMW's new "i Vision Dee" concept car, a midsize electric sports sedan covered in futuristic panels that can change color on demand. BMW describes it as the world's first "color-changing" car. The car can cycle between 32 different solid exterior colors, with mix-and-match capabilities due to its 240 different panel segments. As with any concept vehicle, the technology behind the Dee's color-changing capabilities is likely years away from consumer availability.

☆ BMW teases a talking car that shifts colors like a chameleon
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Joseph White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BMW plans to launch a new lineup of electric vehicles, which it is calling the Neue Klasse, or new class. The BMW concept was very much a show car, with elements that could be challenging to put into mass production at competitive prices. But Zipse told a packed theater at the Palms Casino that BMW "will bring this technology into our Neue Klasse ... in serious production." Playing on its long-time slogan "the ultimate driving machine," BMW said the "Dee" technology could make future cars the "ultimate companion." The i Vision Dee car has 240 separate color cells that can change individually.

☆ How tech groundbreaker Greg Smithies went from Elon Musk's inner circle to tackling real estate's $18 trillion carbon-emissions problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Greg Smithies leads the biggest fund focused on the decarbonization of real estate. Smithies has worked on sustainability issues and with Elon Musk's The Boring Company. But Smithies is no stranger to investment-led decarbonization efforts, having tackled the problem for much of his career. "At the end of the day, software isn't going to solve the climate crisis," Smithies said. But above all, he's focused on the money and the potential savings that low-carbon technology can have on real estate.

☆ Volvo says it won't charge for basic software updates like heated seats after backlash against BMW's pay-to-heat plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Car companies want to make extra money by charging car owners for software updates. Volvo won't ask owners to pay up for minor upgrades like heated seats, its COO told Bloomberg. As some rivals seek to monetize every corner of car ownership, Volvo won't charge extra for minor software updates and feature upgrades, according to an executive. He said Volvo could ask owners to pay up for a significant update like a self-driving system. Volvo's approach is markedly different from competitors that are pushing the limits of what customers will pay extra for.

[1/5] People take pictures of an an electric-powered Microlino 2.0 car of Swiss manufacturer Microlino AG in Zurich, Switzerland November 21, 2022. Oliver and Merlin Ouboter have launched a new version of the micro car, modelled on BMW's (BMWG.DE) Isetta bubble car, this time with four wheels, not three. "Because it's smaller than a conventional car it consumes less material to make it, and it has a smaller battery which means it uses less electricity," his brother Merlin added. "So the ecological footprint is about a third of a conventional electric car." Microlino is the latest example of that," said Daniel Geissmann at the Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne.

☆ BMW fined by UK watchdog over information request
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] BMW logo is seen on a vehicle at the BMW manufacturing plant in Greer, South Carolina, U.S., October 19, 2022. REUTERS/Bob Strong/File PhotoDec 8 (Reuters) - The UK's anti-trust regulator fined German luxury carmaker BMW (BMWG.DE) 30,000 pounds ($36,519) plus a further daily penalty of 15,000 pounds on Thursday over a disputed information request related to an ongoing auto industry probe. BMW said in March it would respond to regulators' information requests but the CMA said that while the company's British unit had provided information, "the wider BMW Group has failed to comply fully with the CMA's legal request, and has claimed the CMA does not have jurisdiction." BMW said in an emailed statement that the "CMA does not have the legal power to compel foreign companies to produce documents held entirely outside the UK jurisdiction". The CMA said the daily penalty will continue to accumulate until BMW provides the requested information, or the watchdog issues an infringement decision, or closes the case.

☆ A TikToker who 'consensually' doxxes people says it's easier than you'd think
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today, I am introducing you to a viral phenomenon that certainly wasn't on my 2022 bingo card: "consensual doxxing." Meet a TikToker who's gone viral for her "consensual doxxing" content. But one TikToker has garnered hundreds of thousands of followers who want her to expose their secrets. Kristen uses her platform to "consensually dox" users and reveal their birthdays using just social media — and has become a data-privacy educator by proxy. Users are often shocked by how easy it is for her to find out their information, Kristen said.

☆ I drove BMW's $96,000 Tesla rival. Take a full tour of the luxurious — and polarizing — iX SUV.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

The iX has caught heat for its divisive, beaver-tooth grille. But chuck all the insults you want at it — it's made of a plastic that heals itself of any nicks and scratches. The 2022 BMW iX xDrive50. Tim Levin/Insider

☆ Volkswagen-FAW plant in Chengdu halts production amid COVID wave
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) and FAW's (SASACJ.UL) plant in Chengdu, China has halted production due to the rise in coronavirus cases in the country and two production lines at its Changchun plant are also on hold, a VW spokesperson said on Monday. Other plants are all stable but the situation is volatile, the spokesperson added. Protests erupted in cities across China over the weekend, including in Chengdu, Shanghai, Beijing and Lanzhou, as frustrations mount over the government's zero-COVID policy. While low by global standards, China's case numbers have hit record highs for days, with Chengdu residents subjected to mass testing from Nov. 23 to Nov. 27. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Jan Schwartz, Christina Amann Editing by Paul Carrel and Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chinese carmakers target more European sales with five-star EVs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

"All Chinese EV makers want to achieve Euro NCAP five-star ratings in order to be more competitive in the European market," said Brian Gu, president of Chinese EV maker Xpeng (9868.HK). Perhaps more importantly for sales, high safety ratings also open up the potentially huge corporate car fleet market for Chinese EV makers. European carmakers are also pursuing five-star ratings for their EVs and hybrids, from BMW's (BMWG.DE) iX to Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) ID.4 and ID.5. But almost half the Chinese cars sold were EVs, according to Inovev, giving them a 5.8% share of Europe's fully-electric vehicle market. Inovev vice-president Jamel Taganza said all Chinese cars sold in Europe would be EVs within a few years, with more lower-cost models on the way.

☆ BMW's Zipse: we are not leaving lower segment for electric cars
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 9 (Reuters) - BMW Chief Executive Oliver Zipse said the premium carmaker would not abandon its lower-priced segment in the transition to electrification. "We are not leaving the lower market segment. Even if you consider yourself a premium manufacturer, it is wrong to leave the lower market segment - that will be the core of your business in the future," Zipse said, speaking at an event organised by autos supplier Robert Bosch GmbH in Berlin. BMW's chief financial officer warned last week that although sales of fully electric vehicles were expected to double this year from 2021 levels, the company expected rising inflation and interest rates to weigh on incoming orders, particularly in Europe. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee Editing by Madeline ChambersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A man upset about an unavailable flight Friday went on a carjacking spree and crashed into several vehicles in Utah while heading toward his planned destination, authorities said. John Joseph Thomas Green, 20, will be booked into jail in Summit County, Utah, based on multiple felony allegations that were not specified, according to Salt Lake City police. The carjacking spree began about 5 a.m. after airport police told city officers a man at a ticket counter was upset that he couldn't get a ticket for a same-day flight to Denver, the Salt Lake City department said in a statement. The suspect took an SUV by physical force from a motorist in the airport's passenger pickup area, Salt Lake City police said. While using on Interstate 80, the Durango hit as many as five cars in Summit County, east of Salt Lake City, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety.

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