BMW I3 2015 News

A number of potentially hazardous faults have been identified in vehicles sold in Australia, prompting a wide range of recalls.

The top end of town has snubbed next week's Paris motor show but the biggest auto event on the European calendar will have plenty of new sheet metal.

BMW is looking to join the ranks of car companies like Tesla and Mercedes-Benz by offering a home energy storage solution based around its vehicle battery technology.

If you're struggling to understand the latest round of ANCAP testing, you're not the only crash test dummy.

Nearly a quarter of the cars sold in the country are now battery powered, thanks to a combination of green energy and government incentives that include a waiver for GST and the ability to drive in bus lanes.As plug-in cars struggle for acceptance in Australia, and car makers including Nissan and Tesla fight a losing battle for government support, BMW is pushing ahead with its i-car drive.It sold 16,000 examples of its city-focused i3 last year and is intending to get much closer to its early forecast of 30,000-plus in 2015.The i3 enjoys a lot of success where there are government incentives in place"Zero emissions are coming, so urban mobility is going to change," says BMW Group global marketing boss Ian Robertson. "At the end of the day, the big urban environments around the world are going to a zero-emissions situation."Robertson says government support is essential and lists incentives including free access to the London congestion zone and carpool lanes in California, as well as the £5000 grant to electric car buyers in Britain. "It would be fair to say the i3 enjoys a lot of success where there are government incentives in place."

Grey power is giving a surprising boost to the new green car at BMW.

The wheels have seized on the electric car revolution in Australia.

The BMW i3 electric car has won Wheels magazine’s latest Car of the Year award even though it conked out during the test because it ran out of power.The oddly shaped $65,000 car which is about the same size as a $15,000 hatchback, is one of the most controversial winners of the world’s oldest Car of the Year award since the Leyland P76 in 1973, the Holden Camira in 1982 and the Honda CR-Z hybrid sports car in 2011, of which fewer than 100 were sold last year.The magazine also admits its latest winner is poor value: “If the i3 has an obvious weakness, it’s value.”BMW sold just 33 examples of its quirky i3 electric car since it was introduced last year. Even the Leyland P76 sold more examples in its first partial year on sale.The BMW i3 was criticised by the magazine because it drained power too quickly after it failed to complete one phase of the test.“BMW could and should do a better job of explaining the range extender functions and the importance of avoiding battery depletion,” the magazine said.However, Wheels editor Glenn Butler defended the decision to hand the award to the BMW i3 and added "It didn't break down ... it ran out of electricity".“We aren’t suggesting this is the car for every Australian,” Mr Butler told News Corp Australia.“Those who do big country kilometres will need something with greater range. But for the average Australian who does just 40km a day, the i3 offers fuel-free, emission-free motoring.”The BMW i3 is not the first winner to run out of fuel. The Ford Falcon that won in 2002 ran dry and had to be refuelled, said Mr Butler.Meanwhile safety advocates have criticised the award because the BMW i3 only scores four stars out of five for safety according to European authorities.Even Wheels magazine admitted: “Like almost any car in production, it could be made a little safer.”However, in earlier awards, Wheels took safety so seriously that in the year 2000, Holden air-freighted a Barina from Europe to Australia because the magazine insisted all contenders have three-point, lap-sash seatbelts.Until Wheels introduced the rule, the Barina at the time had a lap-only belt in the middle back seat. It went on to win the 2001 award.The BMW i3 is the first car with a four-star safety rating to win the award in 10 years.“Questions have been raised about the i3’s four-star (rating),” said the magazine. “There’s no question, however, that the BMW i3 does a good job of protecting its occupants in a crash.”The BMW i3 has seven airbags but it was marked down for having a poor pedestrian safety rating.Last year, 151 pedestrians were killed on Australian roads, accounting for 13 per cent of the total road toll.The head of the Pedestrian Council of Australia Harold Scruby said: “It’s disappointing that such a prestigious award should not take pedestrian safety seriously. When we get out of a car, we’re all pedestrians.”

Car makers are embracing lifestyle hardware as the next step in connecting vehicles with the newest-generation drivers.At the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai displayed apps to remotely interact with the car.There's nothing new in that; car companies have been touting remote apps for years. The difference this year is the focus on linking those apps to "wearables" rather than smart phones (the band/watch is connected to the phone, which remains securely in owners's pocket or handbag).It's all about ease of access and for once car companies are surfing the leading wave of the tech swell, anticipating the arrival of the Apple Watch and the next-gen Android Wear devices will hasten adoption of Dick Tracy-style wristbands.BMW, the most ambitious, integrates some functionality in its i3 electric car, working with a Samsung smart watch and its iRemote software.The functions - from checking the battery level to remotely firing up the aircon - can be accessed using either the touchscreen or by voice recognition.BMW is also researching using the watch to lock and unlock the car's doors using gesture control.BMW says the application "can significantly enhance comfort and convenience not only in the private sphere but also when using the BMW car-sharing program DriveNow".Hyundai's take on how wearables might work includes handing over some of the driver assistance aids to the smartwatch. So it's the watch, rather than the steering wheel, that will vibrate when a driver leaves the lane or another car starts to veer into its space. Likewise, the smartwatch will monitor the user's heart rate and can then automatically stop the car and call emergency services if there are critical changes to the driver's pulse.To varying degrees all of the above systems are production ready, meaning they'll be appearing in vehicles in the near future. Meanwhile, watch this space.

BMW to demonstrate fully-automated self-parking i3 electric car at January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.BMW is set to demonstrate a prototype system that will automatically park a car in a multi-story car park without the use of GPS or the presence of a driver.Called the Remote Valet Parking Assistant, the technology combines onboard laser scanners with a map of car park's layout to enable the driver to exit the vehicle before it navigates itself through the structure autonomously.The car will then find an empty spot, park, lock itself and then wait to be summoned by the driver when they are ready to depart.The Remote Valet Parking Assistant is controlled via the driver's smartwatch, which also monitors the driver's location so the car can meet them at the car park exit.BMW says the same sensor technology can be used to bring crash-free driving closer to reality. Similar to the autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems seen in existing vehicles, the system developed by the Bavarian car brand monitors 360-degrees around the car, and acts to stop the car when it detects an obstacle.BMW will showcase the new technology aboard an i3 - their all-new fully-electric car - bringing together its green drivetrains and driver safety systems.This isn't the first time BMW have dabbled in autonomous driving, however.In 2009 a development version of a modified 330i called the Track Trainer navigated the 22.8km, 154-corner Nordschleife circuit using the ideal racing line and at racing speeds.The BMW Track Trainer has also driven racing-speed laps at Laguna Seca in the US, Zandvoort in the Netherlands, Valencia in Spain as well as the Hockenheimring and Lausitzring in Germany.BMW's autonomous vehicle development continued in 2011, with a development vehicle taking to the motorway between Munich and Nuremberg without driver intervention (although one was present in the car).BMW's self-parking i3 will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show, which runs from January 6 to 9 in Las Vegas.