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Recharge Wrap-up: BMW to test autonomous cars, Korea bans sales of BMW, Nissan, Porsche models

BMW will test autonomous cars on public roads by the second half of 2017. The German automaker, with partners Mobileye and Intel, will operate a fleet of 40 self-driving vehicles using a "scalable architecture" that will be made available to other automakers. The partners plan to offer products ranging from key components to "a complete end-to-end solution" for autonomous driving. Since parting ways with Tesla, Mobileye also recently announced it would provide its technology to Lucid Motors. For BMW, it all leads up to its fully autonomous iNext model slated for introduction in 2021. See the video above, and read more in the press release from Intel. South Korea has banned the sale of certain models from BMW, Nissan, and Porsche over emissions cheating. Following an investigation, regulators determined emissions testing documents to be falsified. The country's Ministry of Environment has fined the three automakers a total of $5.9 million, and revoked the certification of 4,523 vehicles across banned 10 models. Six of the models were still on sale, while the other four have been discontinued. Read more from Automotive News Europe. China's prices for the Cadillac CT6 Plug-in are significantly higher than those announced for the US. The plug-in hybrid version of the luxury sedan recently went on sale with the two variants priced at RMB 558,800 and RMB 658,800. At the time of this writing, that's $80,420 and $94,812. Cadillac announced it would bring the CT6 Plug-In Í– which is built in China – to the US in the spring of 2017, starting at $76,090 before federal and local tax incentives. Hybrid Cars points out that China's own generous incentives could help to make it more competitive. The offering of a charger with free installation as well as an eight-year warranty on the electric powertrain should help, too. Read more at Hybrid Cars. A Connecticut court has ruled in favor of Tesla's gallery showroom in Greenwich. Last May, the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association brought the suit to block the showroom on Greenwich Avenue, which has now been dismissed by the Connecticut Superior Court. Tesla cannot offer test drives, sell cars, or operate a Supercharger at the location, but it can sell other branded items and educate the public about its vehicles. It's possible that the issue of Tesla's direct sales model could come up again this year in Connecticut state legislature. Read more at Teslarati .

Recharge Wrap-up: Nissan 'No Charge' in Denver, A123 doubles

Nissan has introduced its "No Charge To Charge" program in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2, customers who buy their new Nissan Leaf from certified dealers in the metro Denver area will get two years of free charging. Denver is the 16th market to offer "No Charge To Charge," with a total of at least 25 US markets scheduled to offer the program by the end of the year. "EV charging infrastructure continues to grow in Denver," says Nissan EV Sales and Marketing Director Andrew Speaker, "and access to free public charging for new Leaf buyers helps make owning an all-electric vehicle even more cost-effective and convenient." Read more in the press release below. Wanxiang is investing $200 million in A123 Systems in order to double its lithium-ion battery production. The combined capacity of its three production facilities in Michigan, Hangzhou, China and Changzhou, China will increase from 750 megawatt-hours to 1.5 gigawatt-hours in the next three years. The increased capacity will help support customers building hybrids, passenger EVs, and commercial vehicles. Included in the expansion is the capacity to build 12-volt starter batteries and 48-volt microhybrid systems. "It's been a tremendous turnaround," says A123 CEO Jason Forcier, referring to the company's 2012 bankruptcy. Forcier also says the company is already planning another expansion when this one is complete. Read more at Automotive News, and in the press release from A123. The Royal Hashemite Court of Jordan is ordering 150 Zoe EVs from Renault. King Abdullah II of Jordan signed an agreement with Renault, who will deliver the cars by the end of the year. The cars will be powered completely by solar energy generated on royal property. The order of the 150 Zoes is the largest since 2013, and makes Renault the largest provider for Jordan's royal EV fleet. Renault says that further EV orders are already being discussed. Read more in the press release from Renault-Nissan. Beijing, China will exempt electric vehicles from its limits to vehicles on roads during rush hour. Current policy, designed to help alleviate traffic and air pollution, restricts cars with even and odd license plates from rush hour traffic on alternating days. The exemption for EVs runs from June 1, 2015 until April 10, 2016. It is the newest in the list of perks meant to encourage EV adoption, despite the troublesome lack of charging infrastructure. Read more at Green Car Reports.

Next Nissan Titan will get turbocharged diesel V8 from Cummins

Toyota might be content to eke out an existence in the fullsize pickup market with its lightly refreshed Tundra, but Nissan looks like it'll be a bit more aggressive with its next-generation Titan. The next Titan will make use of a 5.0-liter, turbodiesel V8 from Cummins, the Japanese company announced at the start of its Nissan 360 industry showcase.
Nissan's commitment to a fullsize pickup isn't really open for debate - it made waves back in April when it lured Fred Diaz, CEO of Chrysler's Ram pickup division, down to its Franklin, Tennessee headquarters. But this news of a monster turbodiesel is big. As of this writing, only Ram is set to offer a diesel engine in a non-heavy-duty pickup. Its 3.0-liter, EcoDiesel V6 will arrive in the Ram 1500 in the not-so-distant future, but that engine will still be a far cry from what's promised with this Cummins mill.
The 5.0-liter V8 is expected to generate well over 500 pound-feet of torque - likely closer to 550, based on the language in the press release - along with over 300 horsepower. Those figures aren't just a shot across the bow of Ford, Chevy, GMC and Ram, they're an opening broadside, meant to demonstrate Nissan's willingness with its next light-duty truck. As Diaz said, "There is no question that the new Titan will turn heads, and with the available Cummins 5.0-liter V8 turbodiesel, we expect to win new fans and attract buyers looking for this unique configuration."