2017 Smart Fortwo on 2040-cars

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BMW negotiates Daimler alliance, buys out car-service partner Sixt

Sixt sells its stake in DriveNow car-sharing to BMW BMW in talks with Daimler to combine car-sharing Combining car-sharing business to aid robotaxi plans FRANKFURT — Germany's BMW has bought out partner Sixt from their joint venture DriveNow, paving the way for a broader car-sharing and driverless taxi alliance with Daimler to compete against Uber and Lyft. Car rental company Sixt said on Monday it would generate an extraordinary pre-tax profit of about 200 million euros ($248 million) in 2018 from the sale of the DriveNow stake to BMW for 209 million euros. "With DriveNow as a wholly-owned subsidiary, we have all options for continued strategic development of our services," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW's board member for Digital Business Innovation. "Our experience with mobility services supports our development of future autonomous, electrified and connected fleets," he said, adding that BMW aims to have 100 million customers for "premium mobility services" by 2025. The Sixt deal comes as BMW moves closer to a deal to combine its car-sharing services with Daimler's Car2Go, a person familiar with the discussions told Reuters last week. The German carmakers want to build a joint business that includes car sharing, ride-hailing, electric vehicle charging, and digital parking services, a senior executive at one of the companies said on Monday. Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and BMW declined comment on the status of potential talks on their car-sharing business. "This is speculation, we do not comment," BMW said. The senior executive, who declined to be named because the plan is not public, said: "This will create an ecosystem which can also be used for managing robotaxi (driverless taxi) fleets." BMW would contribute its ParkNow and ChargeNow businesses to the common company, the executive said, adding that there were still differences of opinion over the valuation of Car2Go. The market for ride-hailing services currently makes up around 33 percent of the global taxi market, and could grow eightfold to $285 billion by 2030, once autonomous robotaxis are in operation, Goldman Sachs said in a recent research note. BMW and Daimler are now working on developing autonomous cars, vehicles which could enable them to up-end the market for taxi and ride-hailing services.

Smart Fortwo Brabus drops most of its camo

When we drove the new Smart Fortwo last month, we were impressed at how peppy and darty it felt – especially in turbo spec. But that was just enough to whet our appetites for an even sportier version, and fortunately that appears to be just what Daimler is cooking up right now. This latest batch of spy shots gives us an even better look at the Brabus version of the new Fortwo under development. As you can see, it has upgraded rolling stock sitting on a lower (and presumably sportier) suspension with dual tailpipes and what could even be some enhanced aero components. Here's hoping the production version doesn't match an orange interior to a red body like this prototype does, though the bigger question is what it's got not under the hood, but beneath the rear cargo shelf where the existing Fortwo has a choice of three-cylinder engines. As we reported earlier, the new Smart Fortwo Brabus is tipped to pack as much as 130 horsepower, but in what form, exactly, we don't know. It could come from an enhanced version of the 898cc turbo three in the current range-topping Fortwo, maybe a turbo version of the larger atmospheric 1.0-liter inline-three, or a different engine entirely – like a 1.2 sourced from Renault. Either way, the decision was likely made jointly by Daimler and Renault, which is expected to offer a similarly sporty version of the Twingo as well.

Recharge Wrap-up: Smart Fortwo ED "Yo" Video; Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle Event highlights

Last month, Smart used the Yo app to give free rides to San Franciscans in the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive. For those who are curious - or as Smart puts it, "electricurious" - about the event, but weren't in the Mission or SoMa neighborhoods on the day it went down, Smart filmed the fun to bring the rest of us along for the ride. In the short video, we get to see the action behind the scenes in Smart's mission control-style operation, as well as the riders' reactions to the tiny electric car. Check out the video below for more. The 2014 Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle Event took place at Millbrook last week. The show featured the latest in clean car technology. It included exhibitions, demonstrations and talks about the current state of green cars and of what's to come in the future. Green Car Guide summed up key details of the event, pointing out that new car emissions are down over one third in the last 10 years, and buyers have more low-carbon choices than ever before. See some show highlights in the video below, or read the full event wrap-up at Green Car Guide. ClipperCreek is providing more power from its EV charging stations without increasing price. The HCS-40 and CS-40 chargers now offer 32 amps continuously, up from 30. The HCS-40 240-volt, level 2 home charger has a price tag of $590. It's rated for indoor or outdoor use, and can be installed by any licensed electrician. Read more in the press release, below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.