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Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla opens 50th European Supercharger, BMW smart charging in Singapore

Southeastern Illinois College wants to create a biofuel processing certification program. The school is waiting to hear about receiving $750,000 from a US Department of Labor grant that would allow it to expand its Biofuels Education curriculum to include certification for manufacturing biodiesel and ethanol. There are currently no such programs in existence, and its development would require Labor Department approval as well as input from biofuel companies. Southeastern Illinois College believes that biofuel processing certification would be a large draw for potential students. Read more at The Southern Illinoisan. Tesla has opened the 50th Supercharger in Europe. In the year since the first on was installed in Norway in August 2013, Tesla has been building the network that, like it does in the US, will allow Model S drivers to go long distances for free. There are now 168 Superchargers open throughout the world. Find more in the press release below. BMW is partnering with Greenlots to bring an open standards EV charging network to Singapore. As part of BMW's 360 Electric program, Greenlots will install public chargers and manage the network that allows BMW i owners to find and use the chargers with BMW's navigation system and ChargeNow card. The 30 possible public chargers Greenlots plans to install will use the company's SKY Smart Charging platform. Greenlots will also install the BMW i Wallbox Pure charger at customer's homes and offices. Read more in the press release below. Plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales are forecast to reach 1.8 million a year by 2023, according to a report by Navigant Research. Right now, North America is the biggest buyer of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, but that should change as the Asia Pacific market is expected to outgrow it; still, the US alone is expected to have more than 2.7 million PEVs on the road in 2023. Urban areas are where we'll see the largest concentration, naturally, with Tokyo, Los Angeles and Paris having the most sales in 2023, respectively. With the increase in PEVs comes an increase in residential load on the electric grid, which is expected to rise by 33 to 37 percent. Read more at Hybrid Cars, or head to the Navigant Research website. Chinese automaker Dongfeng is now manufacturing its first mass-produced electric vehicle, the Aeolus E30. The small, two-seat urban EV has a limited speed of 50 miles per hour, but has a range of up to 100 miles.

BMW Concept X5 eDrive plug-in hybrid headed to Frankfurt

With six confirmed public debuts scheduled for the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, BMW is definitely going to have its hands full. While we've already driven models like the 4 Series and the i3, one of the more interesting introductions is a "concept" plug-in hybrid version of the new F15 BMW X5 called the BMW Concept X5 eDrive.
As the second concept to wear the eDrive name, this X5 combines a 95-horsepower electric motor with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine to balance performance and efficiency. On the green side of things, BMW says that the eDrive system allows the X5 to reach speeds of 75 miles per hour and a range of 19 miles (although we're guessing not at the same time) under electric power only, to go with fuel consumption of about 62 miles per gallon US (3.8 liters per 100 kilometers). For performance, this plug-in can still accelerate from 0-60 in under seven seconds, and drivers can select from three PHEV modes: one that operates the system automatically, an all-electric mode and a Save Battery mode to preserve the battery's current state of charge.
Aside from the obvious plug port on the left front fender, the X5 eDrive is differentiated from the 2014 X5 with slightly restyled front and rear fascias, subtle blue accents tying in with the BMW i line and lightweight, aero-tuned 21-inch alloy wheels. There is no definitive word on whether the Concept X5 eDrive will make it to production, but judging by BMW's recent commitment to plug-in vehicles, we wouldn't be surprised to see an X5 PHEV on the roads within the next couple of years. We'll see the Concept X5 in just a few weeks in Frankfurt, but until then, scroll down for the official press release.

BMW doubles i8 production to meet demand

They're not exactly Ford F-150 pickup truck numbers, but global sales of the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid are spurring the German automaker to step up the supercar's pace of production. As rumored, Bimmer, which has been pretty happy with sales of its i3 electric vehicle, is going to double the production pace of the i8. BMW's Germany factory will now put out about 20 i8 vehicles a day, Automotive News Europe says. That should cut down the wait time for the model, which started sales in both Europe last June and in the US two months later. Right now, buyers have to wait about four months to get their i8 plug-in vehicles, Automotive News Europe says, citing German outlet Automobil Produktion. Given that the cars retail for $135,000, we suspect these are people who probably aren't accustomed to wait for much. In January, BMW said that it sold almost 18,000 i3 and i8 plug-in vehicles last year globally, with about a third of those going to the US. Specifically, BMW moved 555 units of the i8 last year (and the vehicle was really only available for about five months) and another 198 through February. Through February, Bimmer also moved 1,759 units of the i3. Related Videos: Featured Gallery 2015 BMW i8: First Drive View 62 Photos News Source: Automotive News Europe - sub.req. via Automobil Produktion Green Plants/Manufacturing BMW Electric PHEV ev sales