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Mini Rocketman concept reportedly going into production as an EV

Remember the Mini Rocketman Concept from the 2011 Geneva Motor Show? If you don’t thatÂ’s OK, as itÂ’s been almost an entire decade since Mini pulled the wraps off. Despite the massive time lapse, Mini decided to revive the concept, not just for show. The companyÂ’s finally going to put the Rocketman into production, as an electric vehicle. We've heard this before, a few years ago, but nothing was set in stone. Now it seems a decision has been made. AutoCar in Britain recently learned that the Rocketman will fulfill its premise as the companyÂ’s first subcompact city car. The production model, scheduled for 2022, will reportedly be heavily reworked and built as a joint project with Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors. “WeÂ’re advancing plans for a model along the lines of the Rocketman. ItÂ’s a car we have been looking at for a long time, but to build it profitably at the price point we think customers are prepared to pay, you need a joint venture partner to share costs. Great Wall Motors has provided that opportunity with a shared electric car platform that will be used by Mini,” an anonymous “senior BMW official” was quoted as saying. The production Rocketman will retain its three-door hatchback design and is expected to serve as the manufacturerÂ’s newest entry-level model. It will be built by Great Wall Motors in Jiangsu, China, while BMW oversees the design and production with plans to sell it in all markets globally. When the Rocketman first surfaced at Geneva, it was essentially BMWÂ’s direct response to DaimlerÂ’s Smart ForFour. However, even with positive feedback from prospective customers, the project was shelved because development discussions between BMW and its initial partner, Peugeot, ended abruptly. The companies were reportedly going to share platforms and powertrains in another joint venture. In the new agreement with the Chinese company, the production model will apparently use a small-car platform used by Great Wall Motors called the Ora R1. The Peugeot-BMW project was going to use either a three-cylinder gas or diesel engine. But the new model will gain an all-electric powertrain by Spotlight Automotive as a part of BMWÂ’s massive plan to launch up to 25 new plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles by the end of 2023. One of those models is the newly released all-electric Cooper SE.

2016 BMW 7 Series slims down, techs up

BMW is finally pulling the wraps off its sixth-generation 7 Series. The flagship boasts a ton of improvements for 2016, including a smattering of onboard tech and weight reduction of 190 pounds. The 7 Series uses a new internal structure called Carbon Core. Derived from the i sub-brand, Carbon Core uses a mix of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic and ultra-high-tensile steel for the 7's major structural components. It's largely responsible for the 190-pound weight reduction, along with the aluminum doors and trunk lid. The weight savings has allowed BMW to maintain a fifty-fifty weight distribution. That new structure underpins the largest sedan BMW has ever produced. At 206.6 inches in total, the long-wheelbase-only 7 Series is over an inch longer than its predecessor. Its 124.6-inch wheelbase and 74.9-inch width, though, remain unchanged. Even with such a modest increase in size, BMW is claiming best-in-class rear legroom, at 44.4 inches – a tenth of an inch more than the current 7. Unlike the old car, though, this new 7 Series gets with the times in terms of chauffeur equipment. The front passenger seat can be slid forward and folded, allowing a lucky rear passenger to take advantage of the new pop-out footrest and optional 42.5-degree seat incline, available as part of the Rear Executive Lounge Seating Package. iDrive now adds a number of 3D sensors that respond to pre-programed hand motions. The 7 Series will debut here in the United States with two engines, both of which should be familiar to BMW consumers. There's a 320-horsepower, 3.0-liter, turbocharged six-cylinder in the nose of the 740i, and a 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 with 445 hp on tap in the 750i xDrive. 60 miles per hour arrives in a relaxed 5.4 seconds for the 740i and 4.3 seconds in the V8 model. Once again, ZF provides the eight-speed automatic transmission used with both engines. Joining the 740i and 750i is the new 740e xDrive. The plug-in-hybrid sedan is motivated by a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder and an electric motor, and is capable of 23 miles per charge and speeds of up to 75 miles per hour in pure electric mode. Tthere's no shortage of tech on the latest 7 Series. While we're familiar with some items, like active grille shutters and BMW's Air Breather system, it's items like the gesture-control-equipped iDrive 5.0 that pique our interest. Alongside the new and standard touchscreen, iDrive now adds a number of 3D sensors that respond to pre-programed hand motions.

Mini may not build electric cars in England due to Brexit

BMW will decide whether to build its new electric Mini in Britain or elsewhere by the end of September, its board member for sales told Reuters, in a test of the country's ability to continue to attract investment as it leaves the EU. Mini makes around 70 percent of its approximately 360,000 compact cars at its Oxford plant in southern England but the car industry is concerned about the effect any loss of unfettered access to the EU, its largest export market, could have on plants after Brexit. BMW is deciding between its English site, a plant in the Netherlands where it has built more of its conventional line-up in recent years, and its Germany plants at Leipzig and Regensburg for the new low-emissions variant. The firm's board member for sales told Reuters that the electric Mini investment, likely to be worth tens of millions of pounds, would come in the next three months and the board was currently considering a number of factors including Brexit. "One of the elements is what is the likelihood of a tax regime and if there's a tax regime, how would it apply," Ian Robertson said during an interview at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in southern England. "If you made the motor in a German plant and you then assembled the car in a British plant, and you took the cars back to the German market, then the duty that you would pay would be reclaimed," he said, in an example of the options companies are examining to plan for any duties or tariffs. The automaker is also looking into where the uptake of greener models is strongest and where the best supply chains are, he said. Britain could approve its first major electric battery hub in the next few weeks after officials in central England submitted proposals to ministers in May. But last month, the car industry issued its strongest warning yet on the need for politicians to strike a transitional Brexit deal after two-year talks to ensure unfettered trade is maintained. Uncertainty has also been heightened after a snap June 8 election which left Prime Minister Theresa May without a majority and has led to ministers in her administration hinting at different versions of Britain's likely post-Brexit future. Last year, May's administration helped secure two new models at Japanese carmaker Nissan's plant in the north of England after what a source said was a government promise of extra support to counter any loss of competitiveness caused by Brexit.