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European car sales up 8% in February

Three weeks ago an analyst increased projections for European car sales this year, expecting them to climb three percent compared to last year instead of 2.7 percent. That number is a postive sign after years of hard times but it turns out February was especially good, overall European sales climbing eight percent on a wave of southern European recovery and discounts - and this comes after five months of gains including January's 7.2-percent jump over the year before.
The only country of Europe's five largest markets to post a decline was France, just as it did in January, Germany, the UK and Italy posting solid double-digit numbers, Spain rocking the charts with an 18-percent increase because of a government program to encourage trade-ins.
The only brand to miss the wave was Volkswagen, dropping 0.8 percent as it watched the double-digit growth at sister brands Audi, Seat and Skoda lift the Volkswagen Group sales up by seven-percent. Peugeot overcame flat sales at Citroën to improve the group by 3.5 percent, BMW and the Mercedes-Benz/Smart combo rose by four percent, the Fiat group jumped 5.8 percent, Ford was up 11 percent, the Renault Group 11.5 percent, General Motors 12 percent and the Toyota clan by 14 percent.

Toyota passes BMW as most valuable car brand

An annual market study of the strongest brands across various industries has seen Toyota leapfrog BMW as the world's most valuable automotive brand. Toyota's 2013 brand value rose to $24.5 billion, up 12 percent versus 2012 numbers according to market research company Millward Brown's BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list. BMW's value fell slightly; down by 2 percent to a total of $24 billion.
Mercedes-Benz finished in third place in the automotive category, up 11 percent from 2012 for a valuation of $18 billion. Honda ($12.4 billion, down 2 percent) and Nissan ($10.2 billion, up 3 percent) rounded out the top five for the category. Volkswagen was the only other auto brand that finished in the top 100 overall, in 100th place. Audi made the greatest percentage gain over 2012, up 18 percent to $5.5 billion, but finished outside of the top 100.
Technology companies dominated the overall list, with Apple, Google and IBM ranking one through three. Couture brand Prada was 2013's biggest gainer, rising by 63 percent over 2012.

Updated 2017 BMW i3 goes 114 miles with new 33-kWh battery

The trend of electric vehicles getting bigger batteries and thus longer ranges continues with today's announcement that the 2017 BMW i3 will come with a 33-kWh battery good for 114 miles of range. That's a solid increase from the 81 miles of range from a 22-kWh pack in the original i3s. Officially called the 2017 BMW i3 (94 Ah) – that's not gonna roll off the tongue – the new battery is the same size as the original pack, but has a more than 50 percent increase in capacity. BMW says that the 114 miles will be available, "varying weather conditions and with the air conditioning or heating turned on," which sure sounds like real-world driving to us. The range-extender version of the i3 will also be available with the new 94 Ah battery. In the days' biggest non-surprise (given the i3 news), the BMW i8 is also getting a range boost and a facelift. Read more about the i3 in the press release below. Related Video: The new 2017 BMW i3 (94 Ah): More range paired to high-level dynamic performance: BMW i3 (94 Ah) with more powerful battery (33 kWh). Up to 114 mile combined1 (hwy/city) range under everyday conditions2. New BMW Home Charger Connect offering additional comfort and connected functions. Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – EMBARGO: May 1, 6:01 pm EDT / 3:01 pm PDT... Today BMW announced that BMW i will offer a new model range of its compact electric car, the BMW i3 and from the 2017 model year will be offering a new version with more than 50% increased battery capacity. The 2017 BMW i3 (94 Ah) has a capacity of 33 kilowatt hours (kWh) thanks to the higher energy density of the lithium ion cells. The BMW i team worked to ensure that the battery dimensions remain unchanged while still offering a significant range increase. Even in everyday conditions 2, the new Battery Electric BMW i3, in varying weather conditions and with the air conditioning or heating turned on, a range of up to 114 miles combined1 (hwy/city) is possible as shown by independent BMW testing cycles3. The driving performance figures of the 170 hp AC synchronous electric motor remain virtually unchanged. The motor propels the BMW i3 from 0 to 60 mph in just over 7 seconds. This makes the BMW i3 both the sportiest and most efficient electric vehicle in its segment with an expected EPA electricity consumption of 27 kWh/100mi. In addition to the Battery Electric BMW i3, the Range Extender model will also feature the 94 Ah battery.