My Car Week 🚗 #CW19
MINI, BYD, NEUE KLASSE, and more …
Howdy.
Thanks for opening this email - and welcome!
I’m still playin’ around with this newsletter to find my style. It should not be around news only, but also about my findings, some bites of knowledge, and a last but not least: fun stuff. So, I hope you like this cocktail.
Read it, enjoy it (hopefully), subscribe! and leave a vote at the end of this edition!
Have a nice week!
– Thomas
First Glimpse On New MINI Design
In a press release, Oliver Heilmer, Head of MINI Design, gives us a first idea of what the new MINI design will look like. The first new car of an all-electric future for the brand will be shown later this year.
We already saw the new companion Spike (Newsletter #0), now we get a look at the so called Charismatic Simplicity-design language with a sneak peek of the new round OLED display, the modern steering wheel, seats and more.
Looks neat!
The Neue Klasse
„The silhouette, the surfaces, every detail on the car is new. It will look like we skipped almost an entire model generation“
– Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW Group Design Director, talked a bit about the NEUE KLASSE, the next generation of the BMW (electrified) cars. The Concept Car will be shown at the IAA.
German Handelsblatt has an article about it. (paid)
Mercedes Debuts Its Electric Van
Not as cute as the ID.Buzz: Mercedes is launching a small electric van. The business version is called eCitan. It will be based on the Renault Kangoo, as well as the family version, which is called EQT - make it sound like the french écoutez, which means “listen!”. However, not worth showing - if you want to see it nevertheless: link.
Alpine Shows Their Electric Future
Alpine has unveiled the A 290_β, a concept car based on the electric Renault 5, but designed to be sportier. The concept becomes a production version in 2024 and it seems like we need to wait for further technical information until then.
I want it. Now! With just 4,05 m in length it looks like the perfect Kart for the city!
More pictures.
Which One Is Faster? The BMW XM vs. the BMW M2
2.5 tonnes powered by a hybrid engine vs. 1.5 tonnes powered by a six-cylinder combustion-engine: The BMW M2 is the smallest sports car out of Garching, while many of the BMW M fans might even argue whether the top model XM is a real M at all ... carwow checked, which one of both might win the quarter mile.
Order Your BMW Now, Drive It In 2024?!
When ordering a BMW at the moment, you need a bit of patience before you can collect it at the BMW Welt or your dealership. Actually, you’ll wait a whopping 15 to 18 months for the i4 M50, 9 to 12 months for the iX and i7, and 6 to 9 months for the iX3. That’s quite some time …
And too long if you ask BMW CEO Oliver Zipse, who pushes for faster delivery times.
SIXT Becomes More Human
The rental company SIXT is setting up its own content team and wants to create its social media content in-house now. The company also wants to focus more on people and their experiences in communications. Self-produced images are to replace manufacturer photos.
Fisker Starts In Germany
Last week’s first delivery of the Ocean SUV stood as a pivotal moment for Fisker Inc. – the second iteration of the EV brand. This week, the company popped up in Germany, cutting the ribbon on two new customer-dedicated facilities. Both are - surprisingly! - in the same city: Munich.
Fisker Inc. is Henrik Fisker’s second try to revolutionise the car industry. Fisker is best known as the designer of the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9.
BYD Goes All-In In Germany
BYD is betting big in Germany. The Chinese car brand targets the market leadership for electric cars in the home market of Volkswagen, after BYD beat them in China only some weeks ago.
“The compact Dolphin, which is positioned below the Atto 3, will arrive in August at the latest. After that, at the IAA in autumn, the Seal sedan will also arrive,”
– Lars Pauly in an interview with the german Wirtschaftswoche. (paid)
Houston, You Have Too Many Parking Lots
This is a #TIL for me: “Metropolitan Houston has 30 parking spaces for each of its over six million residents, using a land area nearly 10 times the size of Paris” - that’s insane, isn’t it?!
Read about it in this article, talking about the book Carmageddon: How Cars Make Life Worse and What to Do About It by Daniel Knowles, who outlines the rise of the automobile and the costs we all bear as a result (espc. in the U.S.).
A Robot To Charge Your Car
Talking of parking spaces. As the number of electric vehicles on our roads increases, so does the need for charger-accessible parking spots - but not all parking spots have a charger, no?
Well, here’s Autev. A charging robot – or “powerbank on wheels”?! – that come to people's cars.
So, Every 4th New Car Is All-Electric Now
Electric Cars are on the climb - 28% of all cars sold are BEVs now.
Last, But Not Least
Lucid’s first-quarter results showed a company with widening losses and revenue that failed to meet Wall Street expectations. “Prototypes are easy, production is hard and achieving positive cash flow is excruciating,” a cheeky Elon Musk tweeted in the shadow of these numbers – basically showing, that Lucid lost $554,429.59 per car (!) delivered in Q1 2023.
Talking of Musk. He has broke ground for Tesla’s first lithium refinery in Texas. Besides money, it is also about getting independent as China hosts 60% of the world’s lithium refining capacity and nearly 80% of the world’s lithium-ion battery production capacity.
Oh, and Tesla: The company started production of Model Y with BYD battery in the German Gigafactory.
BMW teased a new BMW Films: THE CALM, premieres May, 17th. The film will feature Pom Klementieff and Uma Thurman.
Did You Know?
The kidney grille evolution started in 1933, with the launch of the BMW 303. The 303 represents 2 milestones: it was the 1st vehicle to have a radiator grille, with the characteristic kidney shape; and it was BMW's 1st 6-cylinder model.
Yesterdays Best
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Bye!