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BMW expects China to pass US as its top market in 2013

When you combine two billion citizens, 100 cities with more than a million inhabitants and an economy that's as unrestrained as Jim Cramer on an Adderall binge, China's explosive auto industry growth shouldn't be a huge surprise. Audi already lists the communist country as its largest market, while Mercedes-Benz is expecting it to be there in the next few years. Now, according to a report from Automotive News, BMW is expecting the People's Republic to overtake the United States in sales by the end of 2013.
We already discovered the extent that BMW is going to in establishing a dedicated Chinese stronghold, when we explored BMW's Shanghai-based DesignWorks studio ahead of April's Shanghai Motor Show. And while we argued that DesignWorks Shanghai hasn't really borne fruit, it isn't due to a lack of sales.
BMW China has seen a 16-percent jump in year-over-year sales, lead by a 28-percent gain in 5 Series sales. Part of BMW's growth strategy comes from an ever-expanding dealership network. Remember those 100 cities we mentioned with over one million people? According to Karsten Engel, CEO of BMW's Chinese operations, those 100-million-plus city dwellers don't have access to a premium dealership.

Audi bringing matrix 'organic' LED concept to Frankfurt

Audi has announced that it's bringing a new concept to the upcoming Frankfurt motor show in September, and now it is teasing the taillights. They adopt organic light-emitting diode technology, which takes advantage of several benefits. For one, it uses a relatively low amount of electricity, between three and four volts. It's also incredibly thin, made up of two layers, each less than a thousandth of a millimeter thick. It casts no shadows, requires no reflectors or any other elements, and emits very little heat. Plus the lights can be formed into different shapes, opening up new possibilities for designers. This isn't the first time we've seen Audi focus on lighting technology, and in recent years it's showcased matrix LED and matrix laser headlights. The company runs through the history of the evolution of its lighting tech in the video above. We'll have to wait a little longer to find out what the team from Ingolstadt will be putting these new taillights on. Audi presents latest lighting technology at the IAA in Frankfurt - Matrix OLED technology makes its debut in a concept car at the IAA - Light attains a new level of homogeneity - Flat light sources open up new design possibilities Audi is presenting its next step in automotive lighting technology at the IAA in Frankfurt. The new Matrix OLED lights enable a previously unattainable level of lighting homogeneity, opening up further creative opportunities for design. As the leading brand in automotive lighting technology, Audi has systematically developed all aspects of OLED technology over the years. Matrix OLED lights combine high-tech engineering and design ideally – initial projects are currently underway to implement OLED technology in production tail lights. They are being shown for the first time in a concept car at the IAA. OLED is an English acronym for "organic light emitting diode." In each OLED unit, two electrodes – of which at least one must be transparent – incorporate numerous thin layers of organic semiconductor materials. A low DC voltage – between three and four volts – activates the layers, each of which is less than one-thousandth of a millimeter thick, to light them. The color is based on the molecular composition of the light source. In contrast to point light sources – such as LEDs – which are made of semiconductor crystals, OLEDs are flat light sources. Their light attains a new level of homogeneity, and its dimming is continuously variable.

Audi prepping a flex-fuel A3 for Latin America

Volkswagen's Audi division hasn't fared well from its parent company's diesel-emissions scandal, especially in the US and Europe. In South America, though, Audi is set to unveil its first vehicle of the flex-fuel variety, according to Nseavoice. Perhaps the German automaker can earn some good karma down in the Southern Hemisphere. The model is the 2016 Audi A3, which is made in Audi's Brazil factory. The engine is a 1.4-liter variety, and it will be able to run on either conventional gasoline or ethanol, or a blend of both. The decision makes sense because ethanol is plentiful in Brazil since the government has long pushed for it and there's plenty of sugar-cane feedstock to produce the stuff. Audi can use all of the positive news it can get, especially in the wake of VW's diesel-emissions scandal. As many as 11 million VW and Audi diesels may have been fitted with software that cheats emissions-testing systems. One result from the scandal's proverbial shrapnel is that the Audi A3 TDI diesel was stripped of its 2010 Green Car of the Year Award by Green Car Journal. The decision marks the first time in the award's history that a winner was stripped of the honor. VW has a long history offering flex-fuel vehicles in Brazil. In 2003, the German automaker was the first to debut a flex-fuel engine, and within two years, VW's Brazil factories were making 300,000 flex-fuel vehicles annually. Other companies have since jumped into Brazil's flex-fuel fray, including Nissan and Honda.