| If you have trouble reading this message, view it in a browser.  This week Lexus teases an EV concept, you can finally buy a Tesla with crypto, and California pressures Biden to set an end date for ICE-car sales. But first:  BMW rolled out its electrification strategy this week and hung a decidedly throwback name on it: Neue Klasse. While the original referred to a model strategy developed in the 1960s that saved the automaker from the brink of irrelevancy, this "new class" points at Munich's plans over the next 10 years to focus on digitalization, sustainability, and highly scalable modules for powertrains and platforms—in other words, to stay relevant. Digitalization has been a common theme among other automakers' plans, especially Volkswagen, but BMW admits it will still keep a door open for gas engines, saying that by 2030, only about 50% of its offerings will be battery-electric, allowing the automaker to pivot where demand warrants. Mini, meanwhile, is set to become an EV-only brand by then.  Mini will be EV-only by 2030. That said, BMW's EV plans are serious: It aims to offer an EV in 90% of the segments in which it fields cars by 2023. Among others, we'll see a midsize luxury sedan from Munich early next year when the i4 lands here, followed by a battery-electric version of the 5-Series slated to arrive later.  Audi Q4 e-tron production begins. While BMW is just gaining momentum with EVs, the VW Group is launching new electric models at a breakneck pace. Production of the upcoming Audi Q4 e-tron began this week in Zwickau, Germany, the model sharing the MEB platform with the VW ID.4, which itself is arriving at dealers in the US this month. The Q4 e-tron is expected to be offered with the long-range 82-kWh battery and a dual-motor layout, even though its concrete specs have not been shared by Ingolstadt just yet—that'll come later in April. The Q4 e-tron will be positioned below the larger e-tron already on sale and is expected to target the likes of the Tesla Model Y. Look for the Q4 e-tron to start around $45,000 when it lands on sale here at the end of the year.    Lexus won't exactly be breaking new ground with the production EV we'll see later this month, hinted at here with this concept, but it will advance the automaker's electric plans—plans that have been criticized in recent months for lagging behind other automakers.  As promised by Elon Musk earlier this year, Tesla is now accepting bitcoin as payment for its cars. The payment option appeared on the automaker's website this week, below the other payment options on its model configurator pages. There are a few caveats, of course, which Tesla spells out directly in a three-page document, sometimes in all caps.   Spread the word: If you know someone interested in staying on top of the rapidly growing EV segment, feel free to pass this newsletter along.
|
A 'New Class' at BMW; Q4 e-tron production begins; Lexus teases a new concept.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment