Today marked what BMW hopes was a momentous day in its history, and especially the era of the electric vehicle. In a high stakes bid for electric vehicle supremacy, BMW unveiled the production version of the electric i3 hatchback – the first of what the German automaker promises will be a complete range of alternative drive models to be sold under its new ‘i’ brand. Simultaneous presentations in London, New York and Beijing were witness to the reveal of the innovative and much anticipated electric car. Unlike most cars today, the production version of the contemporary-styled hatchback managed to stay true to the concept displayed at the 2011 [...]

BMW’s sales boss, Ian Robertson, has said that there are 1,00,000 people around the world who have made reservations for the BMW i3, and a “significant number” of them have made deposits for the car.

Robertson’s interview with Automotive News Europe reports him as also saying that the i3 differs from many of the EVs on the road today because it was developed as an EV from the start, rather than being conventional car with an electric powertrain dropped in.

We are confident that with the i3 and i8 we will shift the [customer [...]

The Board of Directors of Ferrari S.p.A. reported a very positive first quarter of 2012, revenues rose to 556.1 million euro (+13.2 per cent) and 1,733 cars were delivered to the dealership network, an increase of 11.5 per cent on the same period last year. Trading profit grew by 13.4 per cent to 60.5 million euro, while net profits rose by 17.2 per cent (42.1 million euro).

Ferrari’s industrial net cash position on March 31st was the strongest in its history at 860 million euro.

Sales in Europe in the United Kingdom were up (+31 per cent, 177 cars delivered) and in Germany (up [...]

VW did launch their new Beetle at the Auto Expo 2012, but they forgot to include this batboy in their Indian lineup. The new E-Bugster Concept is a full electric 114 HP motor powered retro styled ride. The vehicle is powered with 315 KG’s worth of lithium-ion batteries, which are placed in the trunk of the new Beetle. It does 0-100 in 11 Seconds and has a 160 KM range on just battery juices. Fancy yourself an E-Bug?

Nissan has been working quite hard in the electronic vehicle market, with the Leaf doing well in various parts of the world. The new EV concept dubbed “Pivo3” has a wonderfully interesting design. It will sit one driver in the front along with 2 passengers at the back. The Pivo 3 has a small four-meter turning circle and automatic parking. Nissan is not sure of productions of this vehicle, not before 2017 anyway. Check out the video below to see whats up- upclose and personal. 

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 Volta Motorbikes officially announced its new Volta BCN motorcycle this week, with a complete unveiling set for the EICMA Motorshow in Milan next month. The electric motorcycle is one of many to come in the rage of the new eco sports bike era. With a total of three different variants :

All the variants have a 35 horsepower and 70 kilometer range

The price range starts at €7,000 mark (or just around the INR 5 lac mark, before duties and tax),

The bike will start shipping to pre-orderers first half next year with a reservation list first come first serve basis. 

Ford Evos is a cloud powered Electric Vehicle from tomorrow. The car’s automated and integrated with everything to give you a complete modern experience. The clod powered vehicle is able to sync alarms, meetings , calendars, continue music playback from other devices where you’ve left off and even suggest alternative routes based on your schedule and past driving history. 

Now is that wonderful or what? Check out the Video Below followed by the full PR.

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After BMW showed of their concept cars, it is Audi’s time to take center stage with the Urban Vehicle concept. The car meant for the overly crowded urban driving pleasures, was spotted by Autoblog earlier this year. Both the BMW and Audi concept will be displayed at the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA) in Frankfurt.

The Urban Concept is made out of a carbon fibre shell, with a pull back door only seen in Sci-Fi movies.

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BMW automobiles is a well known name in the automotive industry, especially when it comes to innovation. The i brand was announced for the electric division of BMW automobiles earlier this year. The launch of the sub brand comes hand in hand with the two concept electric cars. 

The i3 will drive 150km on a full charge, acceleration is about 0-60mph in around 8 seconds, while buying the vehicle owners will be able to opt in for the range-extending motor aptly named “REx.” The first consumer model should hit prime markets by as early as 2013. The charger will complete eighty percent [...]

Just a few weeks back BMW announced the “i” series cars. This series is meant to be the first full range electric/hybrid vehicles from the automaker. The cars with 62MPG rating and a 0 – 62 time of 4.8 seconds.

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Luxury car maker Rolls Royce has just announced an electric prototype of its flagship the “Phantom”. Possibly the best luxury car available today. The car dubbed 102EX is still a prototype and the company along with the CEO want people to join in a global debate to see  whether or not they should go into production. Primarily if Luxury and an electric motor can co-exist in harmony without denting the ego of the Phantom owner!

Join the global debate at www.ElectricLuxury.com

Volkswagen’s XL1 plug in hybrid diesel (futuristic) concept car, is perfect for the Indian Consumer. If we all remember Maruti’s new advertising campaign “Deti kitna hai?”. This car delivers a whopping 133 KPML range – and that too on Diesel. Brilliant, isn’t it? It also, produces only 24g of CO2 per kilometer traveled.

Volkswagen has achieved a 795kg curb weight by using carbon fiber, magnesium, ceramics, and aluminum to shave down any excess weight from the XL1, Testing shows only 0.186 drag coefficient.

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