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Recharge Wrap-up: BMW i sales hit 50k, SsangYong SIV-2 concept

BMW sold its 50,000th i car in January. The i3, which launched in September 2013, made up roughly 83 percent of those sales. The considerably more expensive i8, which launched in June of 2014, understandably made up fewer sales. The i3 is currently sold in 49 countries, while most of the i8's sales came from the US, UK, Germany, and Norway. Through December, cumulative i3 sales reached 17,116 in the US, 5,063 in Germany, 4,494 in Norway, 3,747 in the UK and 1,348 in Switzerland. i8 sales were 2,820 in the US, 964 in the UK and 793 in Germany. BMW sold 29,513 i-Series cars in 2015, and 1,255 in January of 2016. Read more at Hybrid Cars. SsangYong will debut its SIV-2 concept at the Geneva Motor Show. The SIV-2 – which stands for Smart Interface Vehicle – uses a 48-volt mild hybrid system with a turbocharged, 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine, 500-Wh battery pack and 10-kW electric motor. The Korean automaker says the modular SIV-2 platform can also accommodate plug-in hybrid and battery electric versions. Alongside the SIV-2, SsangYong will introduce a new Tivoli XLV crossover, based on the XLV Air concept, which is expected to offer competitive fuel economy. Read more at Green Car Reports. Worcester Polytechnic Institute is receiving a $1 million contract from the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) to make recycled plug-in hybrid batteries. The 50-percent cost-share contract will help Worcester Polytechnic scale up its recycling process to make batteries using recycled cathode material. The process, which USABC calls "novel and efficient," will make the batteries less costly than ones made with all-new material, "thereby offering a value-driven path towards improved sustainability." United States Council for Automotive Research executive director Steve Zimmer says, "These programs are critical to advancing the technology needed to meet both near- and long-term goals that will enable broader scale vehicle electrification." Read more in the press release below. USABC AWARDS $1 MILLION TO WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC TO DEVELOP PROCESS FOR RECYCLED PHEV BATTERY CELLS SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Feb.

BMW says SUVs killed the sports car market

In many ways, we're living in a golden age of automotive performance. After all, it's possible to show up at a Dodge dealer, hand over about $60,000 and storm away with a 707-horsepower Challenger Hellcat. Or for those who prefer a touch more luxury, the BMW M4, Mercedes-AMG C63 and latest Cadillac ATS-V offer between 425 and 503 horsepower, depending on your pick, with a bit more poshness. However, none of these powerful vehicles fit the classic definition of a two-place, droptop sports car, and according BMW head of sales Ian Robertson, that's because the segment is very much in the doldrums.
According to Robertson, two factors seriously wounded the classic sports car market. First, the global economic crisis of a few years ago put a serious hurt on sales, according to Bloomberg. Further worsening the situation, the boom in popularity of luxury SUVs and crossovers in the past few years hasn't allowed for much recovery. Even car-hungry China hasn't helped much because of the smog in many cities and preference among some of the very rich there to be chauffeured.
Combined, Audi TT, BMW Z4 and Mercedes-Benz SLK sales peaked around 114,000 units a year in 2007, but they are only expected to reach 72,000 annually by the end of the decade. Robertson is pretty pessimistic about the market's comeback too. "Post-2008, it just collapsed. I'm not so sure it'll ever fully recover," he said to Bloomberg.

Acura NSX, a pair of 2 Series Gran Coupes and a time machine | Autoblog Podcast #628

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor James Riswick and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. This week, they're driving a 2020 Acura NSX, two versions of the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe (M235i and 228i) and the updated 2020 Honda Civic Si. Then, the gang gets to talking about what they'd drive in 1975 and 1985, along with plenty of other tangents. Finally, they wrap it up with news about the upcoming 2021 Acura TLX Type S and the fate of this year's Woodward Dream Cruise. Autoblog Podcast #628 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2020 Acura NSX 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe (M235i and 228i) 2020 Honda Civic Si Cars we'd buy if it were 1985, and 1975 2021 Acura TLX to revive Type S Is the Woodward Dream Cruise canceled? Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: