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BMW readies EV, hydrogen updates for 2015 Detroit Auto Show

BMW's stand at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show will be the place to go for updates. News about advances in electric vehicle infrastructure, hydrogen fuel cells (maybe) and BMW's suite of connected vehicles app things will all make an appearance at the show next month. Let's start with what we know for sure. Both the i3 and i8 plug-in vehicles are supremely connected cars. A new announcement from BMW (available below) says that the suite of "Now" – ChargeNow, ParkNow and DriveNow – apps will be extended and available internationally. The updates include things like being able to find new new fast-charging stations and ParkNow LongTerm, which will let drivers find a permanent parking space where they can fill up their batteries. As Jacob Harb, BMW of North America's head of electric vehicle sales and strategy, told AutoGuide, "2015 is the year of infrastructure." While there is no official mention of a fuel cell stack in the official release (and we've asked BMW to see if there's anything to this news), Inside EVs says that BMW will also show off its new fuel cell stack in Detroit. That's the one that Toyota and BMW are working on together, as announced back in January 2013. If it makes an appearance, then it'll be our first look at the powertrain that's one generation beyond what Toyota has now in the Mirai. BMW at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2015 in Detroit. On 12 January 2015, BMW will welcome in the new car year by unveiling a raft of new products at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. A fixture on the calendar since 1907, the event originally known as the Detroit Auto Show has a long tradition in the USA. This year will be the 27th time it has been held on an international stage, and more than 200 exhibitors will gather at the COBO Center on the Detroit River to present their latest offerings to a large audience. More than 18 million people have visited the show since 1989. The public days take place from 17 – 25 January. Celebrating their world premieres in Detroit are the new BMW 6 Series Convertible, Coupe and Gran Coupe, as well as the new BMW M6 Coupe, BMW M6 Convertible and BMW M6 Gran Coupe high-performance models. They will be joined at the NAIAS by the cutting-edge BMW i models and innovative services encompassing the world of electric mobility. And BMW ConnectedDrive will be showcasing its over-the-air regular automatic map updating technology.

BMW ups i3 production to 100 units a day to meet demand

To reverse the old Field of Dreams quote, they are coming, so BMW is building them. All indications are that US demand for the BMW i3 plug-in will be larger than initially expected. As a result, the automaker is upping production at its German factor by more than 50 percent in advance of stateside sales, Automotive News says, citing BMW boardmember Harald Krueger. BMW has started making about 100 i3s a day, up from its previous daily rate of about 70 units. So far, BMW, which is expected to begin sales of the i3 in the US later this month, has made about 5,000 i3s. BMW spokesman Dave Buchko confirmed in an e-mail to AutoblogGreen that the company was boosting production of the i3 based not only on US demand but on worldwide demand, but he declined to be specific about BMW's new production rate. BMW started selling the i3 in Europe in November and had racked up a six-month waiting list by early February. Last month, Norbert Reithofer, chairman of the board of management for BMW, estimated that the company would be making a cool 100,000 i3s a year by the end of the decade, and that the global automotive market would support that production level. Check out our First Drive of the i3 here.

BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo won't be a one-and-done model

The BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo seems like a model without a real segment to fit into. It doesn't quite match the mold for the swoopy four-door coupe niche like the Porsche Panamera or the brand's own 6 Series Gran Coupe. However, the vehicle isn't really a station wagon to appeal to those utilitarian buyers, either. Despite this identity crisis, BMW is reportedly prepping another GT for the next-gen 5 Series platform. According to German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, the 5 Series GT somehow has been a big enough sales success in the US and China to warrant another model. The next one would allegedly arrive in 2016, which is the about the same size as the future 5 Series sedan. The magazine speculates the new GT could lose about 221 pounds in the transition and be offered with four- and six-cylinder powertrains, plus a plug-in hybrid with an electric driving range estimated at around 19 miles. Globally, China is actually the larger 5er GT market than the US. According to IHS senior analyst Stephanie Brinley to Autoblog, the variant sold 21,089 units worldwide in 2013 (2014 is still being tabulated), and that represented about 5.7 percent of the 370,930 total sales for the 5 Series. China bought 42 percent of the world's GTs, compared to about 10 percent of the mix from the US. Europe, meanwhile, took about 29 percent of them that year. While the GT's sales figures make up just a fraction of the overall 5 Series, the variant is still a moneymaker for BMW, and IHS forecasts a second generation, too. "The 5 Series range as a whole is stronger for having this product, and it's very likely that the company's profit margin is higher on the GT, even with the cost of some dedicated sheetmetal and tooling," said Brinley. Featured Gallery 2014 BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo View 32 Photos News Source: Auto Motor und SportImage Credit: BMW Design/Style BMW Hatchback Wagon Luxury Sedan bmw 5 series gt bmw 5 series gran turismo