A message from Elon was posted on the website of Tesla Motors: On Tuesday, under pressure from the New Jersey auto dealer lobby to protect its monopoly, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, composed of political appointees of the Governor, ended your right to purchase vehicles at a manufacturer store within the state. Governor Christie had promised that this would be put to a vote of the elected state legislature, which is the appropriate way to change the law. When it became apparent to the auto dealer lobby that this approach would not succeed, they cut a backroom deal with the Governor to circumvent the legislative process and pass a regulation that is fundamentally contrary to the intent of the law.

It is worth examining the history of these laws to understand why they exist, as the auto dealer franchise laws were originally put in place for a just cause and are now being twisted to an unjust purpose. Many decades ago, the incumbent auto manufacturers sold franchises to generate capital and gain a salesforce. The franchisees then further invested a lot of their money and time in building up the dealerships. That’s a fair deal and it should not be broken. However, some of the big auto companies later engaged in pressure tactics to get the franchisees to sell their dealerships back at a low price. The franchisees rightly sought protection from their state legislatures, which resulted in the laws on the books today throughout the United States (these laws are not present anywhere else in the world).

The intent was simply to prevent a fair and longstanding deal between an existing auto company and its dealers from being broken, not to prevent a new company that has no franchisees from selling directly to consumers. In most states, the laws are reasonable and clear. In a handful of states, the laws were written in an overzealous or ambiguous manner. When all auto companies sold through franchises, this didn’t really matter. However, when Tesla came along as a new company with no existing franchisees, the auto dealers, who possess vastly more resources and influence than Tesla, nonetheless sought to force us to sell through them.

The reason that we did not choose to do this is that the auto dealers have a fundamental conflict of interest between promoting gasoline cars, which constitute virtually all of their revenue, and electric cars, which constitute virtually none. Moreover, it is much harder to sell a new technology car from a new company when people are so used to the old. Inevitably, they revert to selling what’s easy and it is game over for the new company.

The evidence is clear: when has an American startup auto company ever succeeded by selling through auto dealers? The last successful American car company was Chrysler, which was founded almost a century ago, and even they went bankrupt a few years ago, along with General Motors. Since the founding of Chrysler, there have been dozens of failures, Tucker and DeLorean being simply the most well-known. In recent years, electric car startups, such as Fisker, Coda, and many others, attempted to use auto dealers and all failed.

An even bigger conflict of interest with auto dealers is that they make most of their profit from service, but electric cars require much less service than gasoline cars. There are no oil, spark plug or fuel filter changes, no tune-ups and no smog checks needed for an electric car. Also, all Tesla Model S vehicles are capable of over-the-air updates to upgrade the software, just like your phone or computer, so no visit to the service center is required for that either.

Going a step further, I have made it a principle within Tesla that we should never attempt to make servicing a profit center. It does not seem right to me that companies try to make a profit off customers when their product breaks. Overcharging people for unneeded servicing (often not even fixing the original problem) is rampant within the industry and happened to me personally on several occasions when I drove gasoline cars. I resolved that we would endeavor never to do such a thing at Tesla, as described in the Tesla service blog post I wrote last year.

Why Did They Claim That This Change Was Necessary?

The rationale given for the regulation change that requires auto companies to sell through dealers is that it ensures “consumer protection”. If you believe this, Gov. Christie has a bridge closure he wants to sell you! Unless they are referring to the mafia version of “protection”, this is obviously untrue. As anyone who has been through the conventional auto dealer purchase process knows, consumer protection is pretty much the furthest thing from the typical car dealer’s mind.

There are other ways to assess the premise that auto dealers take better care of customers than Tesla does. Consumer Reports conducts an annual survey of 1.1 million subscribers, which factors in quality, reliability and consumer satisfaction. The Tesla Model S was the top overall pick of any vehicle in the world, scoring 99 out of 100. This is the highest score any car has ever received. By comparison, in the industry report card, Ford, which sells their cars through franchise dealers, received a score of 50. BMW, which makes competing premium sedans, received a score of 66.

Consumers across the country have also voiced their opinion on the sales model they prefer. In North Carolina, a Triangle Business Journal poll found that 97 percent of people polled said Tesla should be allowed to sell cars directly. A poll by the Austin Business Journal showed that 86 percent of respondents were in favor of direct sales, and in a Los Angeles Times poll 99 percent of respondents came to the same conclusion. These aren’t polls that we commissioned and there are many more like them. We have not seen a single poll that didn’t result in an overwhelming majority saying they preferred the direct model to the traditional dealer model. Democracy is supposed to reflect the will of the people. When a politician acts in a manner so radically opposed to the will of the people who elected him, the only explanation is that there are other factors at play.

Going Forward

Some reassurances are also in order. Until at least April 1, everything is business as usual for Tesla in New Jersey. It should also be noted that this regulation deals only with sales, so our service centers will not be affected. Our stores will transition to being galleries, where you can see the car and ask questions of our staff, but we will not be able to discuss price or complete a sale in the store. However, that can still be done at our Manhattan store just over the river in Chelsea or our King of Prussia store near Philadelphia.

Most importantly, even after April 1, you will still be able to order vehicles from New Jersey for delivery in New Jersey on our TeslaMotors.com website.

We are evaluating judicial remedies to correct the situation. Also, if you believe that your right to buy direct at a Tesla store should be restored, please contact your state senator & assemblyman: www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/districtnumbers.asp.

Finally, we would like to thank the many people who showed up in Trenton on Tuesday to support Tesla and speak out against the MVC’s back-door tactics in passing this regulation change without public consultation or due process. It was an amazing response at very short notice and much appreciated.

Elon

This news is courtesy of www.teslamotors.com

DETROIT – The 2014 Chevrolet Spark is a Top Safety Pick and is the only vehicle in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety minicar segment to earn the rating in 2014 model year testing.

Spark achieved highest possible “good” scores in the IIHS’s moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints tests, and scored an “acceptable” in IIHS’s new small overlap test, designed to replicate what happens when the front corner of a vehicle strikes another vehicle or an object like a tree or a utility pole.

“Spark’s impressive performance in IIHS’s most stringent test yet demonstrates the intensive efforts of our global safety team to deliver big safety in a small package,” said Gay Kent, General Motors general director of Vehicle Safety and Crashworthiness. “Spark’s safety structure makes extensive use of high-strength and ultra-high-strength steels and its robust passenger protection package includes 10 standard air bags.”

Minicars present unique challenges when designing for crashworthiness. Spark’s relatively short wheelbase of 93.5 inches required the Spark team to strengthen the car’s front-end structure to better absorb and distribute impact energy around occupants. A cradle extension offers additional support in frontal collisions.

Lightweight, high-strength steels constitute more than 62 percent of Spark’s under body and 42 percent of its upper body. The car’s rigid door beams and H-shaped structure under the seating area are designed to enhance protection in side impacts, and its high-strength cross members are designed to help manage crush space in side impacts.

Spark’s roof bow and B-pillar also use high-strength steels to help preserve the occupant space in a rollover crash. Likewise, the high-strength rear rail is designed to help protect the fuel tank in side and rear impacts.

Spark’s driver and passenger front knee air bags are designed to reduce the risk of lower extremity injuries in frontal crashes. Further protection is provided by dual-stage frontal air bags, seat-mounted side air bags and side curtain air bags that extend over the front and rear seating rows.

Additional safety features include a rollover sensing system, three-point safety belts in all four seating positions, safety belt pretensioners in the front driver and passenger seats, the LATCH child seat attachment system, adjustable head restraints and collapsible steering column.

This Press Release is courtesy of General Motors www.gm.com

CHICAGO – Chevrolet’s all-new 2015 City Express matches maneuverability and cargo-hauling flexibility with efficiency, giving urban business owners and fleet managers value-driven capability with low operating costs.

The City Express goes on sale this fall, offering 122.7 cubic feet (3,474 liters) of customizable cargo space, a tight turning diameter of only 36.7 feet (11.2 m) and an estimated payload capacity of 1,500 pounds.

The City Express also will deliver greater efficiency than full-size vans due to its smaller size and a 2.0L inline-four-cylinder engine with continuously variable valve timing matched to a continuously variable transmission.

“As the newest member of the Chevrolet Express family of vans, the 2015 City Express offers a smaller, more efficient choice for businesses that don’t need the cargo volume or other capabilities of a full-size van,” said Ed Peper, U.S. vice president, GM Fleet and Commercial. “It is an easy-to-maneuver van that makes the most of its compact dimensions with clever features, allowing business owners to maximize its space – and their resources – with a vehicle sized for their needs.”

Versatile and well-equipped
Designed for function, the City Express’s all-important cargo area accommodates large and bulky items, with 4’6” of space from side wall to side wall – more than enough to load a standard 40” x 48” pallet flat on the floor.
There’s also 6’10” of room from the rear doors to the back of the front seats. With the passenger seat folded, the length grows to 9’8”. The tops of the rear wheel houses are flat to enable tiered storage and to maximize storage space.

Additional features include:

Fold-down passenger seat that converts to a flat work space
Center console designed for storage, including a standard file folder bin
Tall, 40/60-split rear cargo doors that open to 90- and 180-degree angles
Left- and right-side sliding doors
Twenty integrated cargo-mounting points throughout the interior
Six floor-mounted D-rings
Six exterior roof rack mounting points
Standard vinyl flooring
Standard solid rear doors with tinted-glass windows available
Standard driver information center
Standard power windows
12-volt power outlet standard on LS
Remote keyless entry with automatic locking feature standard on LT
Heated, power-adjustable outside mirrors standard on LT
Cruise control standard on LT, (available on LS)
Backup sensors standard on LT, available on LS)

“The City Express is engineered to carry what’s important to business owners – and do it with cost-effective efficiency and surprising versatility,” said Peper.

A Technology package available on LT models includes a 5.8-inch diagonal touch screen, navigation, Sirius/XM Satellite Radio with a three-month trial period, Bluetooth phone connectivity, a USB input and a rearview camera system.

Bluetooth connectivity is also available on LS models.

Under the hood
Rated at 131 horsepower (98 kW) and 139 lb-ft of torque (188 Nm), the City Express’s dual overhead cam 2.0L inline-four cylinder engine features continuously variable valve timing. A continuously variable transmission drives the front wheels, contributing to efficiency by making the most of torque delivery across the rpm band.

Designed to provide a balance of strength and low mass, a body-integral chassis enhances efficiency and the feeling of performance. A MacPherson-strut suspension is located in the front with a truck-style multi-leaf rear suspension. Other chassis features include 15-inch wheels, front disc brakes and efficiency-enhancing electric power steering.

Four-wheel antilock brakes and electronic brake-force distribution are standard, as is an electronic stability control system.

The City Express also comes with six airbags standard: dual-stage frontal airbags, side-impact supplemental airbags and roof-mounted curtain airbags for enhanced side-impact and rollover protection.

The City Express gets Chevrolet’s Complete Care including:

Three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper new vehicle limited warranty
Five-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty
Two-year/24,000-mile scheduled maintenance

All 3,200 Chevrolet dealerships across the United States can service the City Express.

Based on the Nissan NV200, the City Express comes i LS and LT trims. Pricing will be announced later.

Chevrolet also offers Express full-size cargo vans in half-ton, three-quarter-ton and 1-ton chassis, in regular and extended lengths, and with gas – including CNG-capable – and diesel engines. Cut-away and passenger models are also available.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.gm.com

Auburn Hills, Mich. – The all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 has earned a five-star overall safety rating from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Five stars is the highest possible safety rating given by NHTSA.

The Chrysler brand’s all-new midsize sedan scored five stars in NHTSA tests that evaluate performance in:
Frontal collisions
Side-impacts simulating a two-vehicle collision
Side-impacts simulating a single-vehicle collision with a pole
These latest test results complement the Top Safety Pick+ rating previously given to the 2015 Chrysler 200 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

“The Chrysler 200’s superior performance in such safety tests validates our continuing efforts to deliver the latest advancements in both passive and active safety technologies,” says Scott Kunselman, Chrysler Group’s Senior Vice President and Head of Vehicle Safety and Regulatory Compliance.

Passive safety systems help mitigate the effects of a crash; active systems help drivers prevent crashes.

“The 200’s robust construction helps absorb energy in the event of a collision,” Kunselman says. “This benefits occupant protection.”

Approximately 65 percent of the all-new Chrysler 200’s body structure consists of hot-stamped, high-strength, advanced high-strength and boron steels. Such construction helps maintain the vehicle’s integrity during collisions.

“The 200’s active-safety equipment shatters the barrier that once restricted advanced driver-assist systems to expensive luxury-brand vehicles,” Kunselman adds.

Among the active safety systems available on the 2015 Chrysler 200 is Full-speed Forward Collision Warning-Plus. It combines camera and radar technologies, which is a first for a mainstream-brand mid-size sedan.

Such redundancy affords greater object-detection precision. Similar systems on competitive vehicles feature one technology or the other.

Full-speed Forward Collision Warning-Plus provides alerts, autonomous braking and, under certain circumstances, slows or brings the all-new Chrysler 200 to a full stop when a frontal collision appears imminent.

NHTSA’s safety ratings web page awards special designations to vehicles equipped with active safety systems, though the systems do not factor into the ratings. Collision-warning systems are a prerequisite to achieve IIHS Top Safety Pick+ status.

The all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 boasts 60 safety and security features – the most in its class. Among these is the segment-exclusive Electronic Park Brake (EPB) with SafeHold.

Offered as standard equipment, EPB with SafeHold automatically activates the 200’s parking brake if the driver’s seatbelt is unlatched and his or her door is opened while forward or reverse gears are engaged. This feature is designed to prevent rollaway situations.

Other standard and available features include Electronic Stability Control (ESC), electronic roll mitigation, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, ParkSense rear backup sensors, ParkView rear backup camera, blind-spot monitoring, Rear Cross Path Detection and LATCH child seat anchors.

The all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 also notched four stars in NHTSA’s rollover resistance evaluation, which is calculated using vehicle dimensions. This result contributed to the car’s overall five-star rating. NHTSA is the only safety agency that evaluates rollover resistance.

Launched in May, the all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 charts a new course for mid-size sedan customers. It leapfrogs expectations for a mid-size car with its elegant exterior design and thoughtful, beautifully crafted interior.

The all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 delivers an exceptional driving experience, enabled by features such as a segment-first nine-speed automatic transmission – which comes as standard equipment – and an available, best-in-class all-wheel-drive system.

Further, it boasts a highway-cycle fuel-economy rating of 36 miles per gallon.

The all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 is designed, engineered and built with pride at Chrysler Group’s Sterling Heights Assembly Plant. Chrysler Group invested more than $1 billion in facility upgrades to produce the all-new 2015 Chrysler 200, including an all-new paint shop and a new, fully robotic body shop.

About Chrysler Brand

The Chrysler brand has delighted customers with distinctive designs, craftsmanship, intuitive innovation and technology all at an extraordinary value since the company was founded in 1926.

Whether it is the groundbreaking, bold design of the Chrysler 300, the simple elegance and extraordinary driving experience of the all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 or the family-room-on-wheels functionality of the Chrysler Town & Country, Chrysler brand vehicles reward the passion, creativity and sense of accomplishment of its owners. Beyond just exceptionally designed vehicles, the Chrysler brand has incorporated thoughtful features into all of its products, such as the innovative center console with pass through storage and sliding cup holders in the 2015 Chrysler 200, the industry-exclusive Stow ‘n Go® seating and storage system on the Chrysler Town & Country and the fuel-saving Fuel Saver Technology in the Chrysler 300.

The Chrysler brand’s succession of innovative product introductions continues to solidify the brand’s standing as the leader in design, engineering and value. The premium for the Chrysler brand is in the product, not the price.

ETROIT — Chevrolet announced pricing for the all-new 2018 Traverse starts at $30,875. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price includes the destination charge, but excludes tax, title and additional dealer fees.

Customers can visit Chevy.com/Traverse to build, configure and price the 2018 Traverse.

Redesigned from the ground up, the new Traverse offers best-in-class maximum cargo space and more passenger space than Explorer, Pilot or Highlander. Traverse also offers seating for up to eight with an enhanced roster of standard convenience, storage and comfort features — with built-in connectivity working to put an end to the eternal question: Are we there yet?

“The all-new Chevrolet Traverse has a bold, new look that complements the full functionality our SUV customers demand. It’s designed to help make life on the road easier, and to look good while doing it,” said Steve Majoros, director of marketing, Chevrolet Cars and Crossovers. “With creature comforts, convenience features and technologies to entertain passengers, Traverse is the total package.”

The 2018 Traverse lineup offers customers even more trim choices, featuring L, LS, LT, and Premier, along with the all-new sporty RS and top-of-the line High Country trim levels. A Redline package will also be available on Premier, featuring a blacked-out appearance with red accents.

The 2018 Traverse comes loaded with standard content:

Convenience

Enhanced Smart Slide® seat to provide easy access to the third row, even with an empty forward-facing child seat in place using the LATCH system
USB charging in all three rows
Teen Driver technology
Rear Seat Reminder4
Rear Vision Camera
Keyless Open and Start
12-volt power outlet
Heated, power-adjustable outside mirrors
Capless fuel fill
Storage

Best-in-class max cargo volume of 98.2 cubic feet
Hidden underfloor cargo storage totaling 3.2 cubic feet
“Truck-sized” center console
Twenty-three storage spots throughout for passengers in all three rows
Dedicated storage for mobile phones
Comfort

Active noise cancellation
Automatic tri-zone climate control
Humidity sensor that detects moisture and diverts air to the windshield to help prevent fogging
Connectivity

Built-in OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot1 allows customers to connect up to seven devices, and customers in the U.S. are offered access to an unlimited prepaid Wifi data plan for $20 per month2 plus tax, enabled by AT&T
Standard support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Compatibility subject to terms, privacy statements and data plan rates, as well as a compatible smart phone
Steering wheel-mounted phone and audio controls
Chevrolet MyLink infotainment systems help keep passengers connected
Owners can manage their vehicle remotely and check diagnostics with the myChevrolet mobile app3 via their smartphone
Additional available features include:

Rear camera mirror provides a video view, displaying a wider, less obstructed field of view compared to a traditional rearview mirror
Surround Vision cameras provide a bird’s eye view of the vehicle to help make reversing, parking or trailering easier
A new, hands-free power liftgate that projects a Chevrolet bowtie emblem on the ground is standard on Premier and High Country
Power-folding third-row seat is standard on High Country
Heated and ventilated leather-trimmed front seats standard on Premier and High Country
Heated second-row outboard seats are standard on Premier and High Country
Heated steering wheel is standard on Premier and High Country
Wireless device charging is standard on Premier and High Country
Available hidden storage behind the articulating radio screen
Power liftgate.
1 Requires a compatible mobile device, active OnStar service and data plan. 4G LTE service available in select markets. Visit onstar.com for coverage map, details and system limitations. Data plan provided by AT&T.
2 Plus applicable taxes and fees. Plan provides access to AT&T wireless data services for your equipped vehicle for 30 days. Eligible vehicle and data plan required. Auto-renewal: Plans automatically renew every 30 days unless cancelled. To cancel at any time, call 1-888-466-7827 or press the blue OnStar button in your vehicle or the advisor link in your mobile app. Monthly charges will automatically be billed by AT&T to credit cards on file on day 30 unless cancelled. Payments are non-refundable (subject to applicable law).
3 Requires active OnStar, compatible device, factory installed remote start and power locks. Visit onstar.com for details and system limitations.
4 Does not detect people or items. Always check rear seats before exiting.

ABOUT CHEVROLET
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

DETROIT — General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today released “Transformation in Progress,” its ninth annual sustainability report to update employees, investors, policymakers, advocacy groups and customers on the aggressive moves the company made in 2018 to achieve its vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. The report also extensively covers GM’s drive to build a world-class, inclusive and customer-focused culture with strong corporate governance and transparency.

“For years, we have said that the auto industry is experiencing more change today than in the past 50 years. That pace of change is only accelerating,” said Mary Barra, General Motors chairman and CEO. “With the right team, technology, resources and scale to achieve our vision, I believe the only thing that can stop us is not acting quickly enough. Disruption creates uncertainty, but it also creates vast possibilities that will lead to a better world.”

Results from the 2018 report include:

GM reduced its manufacturing carbon intensity since 2010 — three years ahead of its goal. GM set a new goal to reduce emissions by 31% by 2030 compared to a 2010 baseline, consistent with the level of decarbonization required by science-based methodology.
Renewable energy powers 20% of GM’s electricity needs today and will power 100% by 2050.
Cars being tested by Cruise, GM’s self-driving, ride-hailing subsidiary, drove 3.5 times more miles in 2018 than in 2017. That underscores the tremendous progress the company is making toward the commercial introduction of self-driving cars — a key part of its zero-crashes vision. Cruise secured commitments for more than $5 billion of external investment, demonstrating the high level of confidence in its vision.
Cadillac will be GM’s lead brand for electrification technologies, and the company will double its engineering resources focused on EV and AV programs in the next two years.
GM is the first automotive company to commit to the future of sourcing sustainable natural rubber for tires to mitigate deforestation and its effects on climate change.
Chevrolet debuted an industry-first Buckle to Drive feature in the 2020 Traverse to help young drivers develop safe driving habits by reminding them to buckle up every time they get behind the wheel.
GM supported initiatives promoting STEM education, vehicle and road safety and community development via grant funding in 28 states, serving 1.4 million individuals.
GM ranks 14th and industry-highest on the JUST 100, a ranking of companies whose business behaviors align with priorities of the American public in environment, social and ethical factors.
GM ranks first worldwide on Equileap’s 2018 Gender Equality in the Workplace.
GM is the fourth most transparent S&P 500 company for ESG disclosure as evaluated by HIP Investor.
Learn more about the ways General Motors is driving value through environmental, community and governance factors.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is committed to delivering safer, better and more sustainable ways for people to get around. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Cadillac, Chevrolet, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety and security services, Maven, its personal mobility brand, and Cruise, its autonomous vehicle company, can be found at http://www.gm.com.

DETROIT — The all-new 2019 Sierra set the new benchmark for capability, refinement and innovation when introduced earlier this year. Now, the GMC Sierra Denali is arriving at dealerships and strengthening GMC’s position as the preeminent brand for premium truck buyers.

Denali is the flagship of the next-generation Sierra lineup, distinguished by iconic design cues and segment-leading technologies. It leads a broader, bolder range of precisely engineered trucks, including new AT4 and Elevation models1, developed for the segment’s most discerning customers.

“GMC ignited the premium truck market 17 years ago with the launch of the Sierra Denali and the next-generation model sets a new standard with unparalleled advancements and exclusive design,” said Rich Latek, marketing director of GMC. “It offers more upscale appointments, purposeful technologies and capability – solidifying Denali as the ultimate in professional grade.”

Along with its bold design and premium features, the next-generation Sierra Denali ups the ante in the segment with exclusive ride and handling and performance technologies designed to deliver a seamless balance of comfort, control and capability. They include new Adaptive Ride Control and the most powerful V-8 engine available in the class.

The new Sierra Denali is offered as a crew cab, with nearly 3 inches of additional rear-seat legroom compared to the previous model. That roomier cabin is trimmed with Denali-exclusive materials, including premium Forge leather-appointed seating, authentic open-pore wood trim and dark-finish aluminum decor.

The 2019 Sierra Denali affirms its position as the most premium Sierra ever, with segment-leading technologies and exclusive features, including:

GMC Exclusive, Industry-first MultiPro Tailgate is the most innovative pickup tailgate ever, with six unique functions and positions offering enhanced second-tier loading and load-stop solutions, a standing workstation and easier access to items in the box.
GMC Exclusive, Industry-first Carbon Fiber Pickup Box2. The CarbonPro offers best-in-class dent, scratch and corrosion resistance.
All-new ProGrade Trailering System with in-vehicle Trailering App offers a connected comprehensive suite of trailering technology that brings more confidence to the towing experience.
Segment-first Multi-Color Head-Up Display projects key, customizable vehicle data on the windshield in a 3 x 7-inch display to help drivers keep their eyes on the road.
Segment-first Rear Camera Mirror gives the driver the option of using a traditional inside rearview mirror or a rearview camera mirror display that provides a wider, unobstructed view that can help overcome common visual obstructions such as occupants or cargo. This next-generation system features the ability for zoom and vertical tilt adjustment.
Additional 2019 Sierra Denali highlights (standard and available features) include:

Denali-exclusive exterior elements, including a bright, multidimensional grille, chrome exterior accents and body-color bumpers.
New high-intensity LED headlamps that incorporate C-shaped “light blade” lighting elements, LED fog lamps and C-shaped LED elements within the taillights.
20-inch aluminum wheels are standard, with 22-inch wheels available.
Integrated dual exhaust with bright polished outlets standard.
Heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear outboard seat and heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel are standard.
GMC Premium Infotainment System with 8-inch-diagonal HD color touchscreen, embedded navigation and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone projection compatibility.
Customizable profiles, saved with each driver’s settings and presets and stored in the cloud, can be accessed and used in other compatible 2019 GMCs.
Ride and Handling Delivers Confidence
Sierra Denali’s exclusive Adaptive Ride Control offers premium ride comfort with better road isolation and control than ever. Through real-time monitoring of the road and driver inputs while accelerating, cornering, braking and trailering, the system’s active dampers can be individually adjusted every 2 milliseconds, based on sensor feedback.

The all-new Traction Select System allows drivers to choose from preset available drive modes that have been tailored for different terrain or weather conditions. It adjusts Sierra’s transmission shift points, throttle mapping and StabiliTrak to optimize performance for the situation. The system also reacts with the Adaptive Ride Control in Sierra Denali to further enhance the driving experience and refine the ride.

The available Traction Select system modes are:

Tour: The default mode of operation at every start-up, Tour is designed to deliver the right blend of refinement and efficiency for everyday use.
Sport: The transmission is eager to downshift in order to keep the engine in its peak powerband. Power steering assist is slightly reduced, making the steering feel more direct, communicative and sporty.
Snow: Available only on two-wheel-drive Sierras, Snow Mode optimizes Sierra’s driveline for driving in wintry weather. In addition to leveraging Sierra’s standard Traction Control and StabiliTrak stability control systems, Snow Mode also provides a slower, less sensitive accelerator pedal calibration.
Off-Road: Designed for use for higher-speed driving on non-paved surfaces, Off-Road mode incorporates the same accelerator calibration as Snow Mode, giving the driver precise throttle control. Also incorporates unique StabiliTrak and traction control calibrations that allow for a little more wheelslip than on dry surfaces, in order to help carry momentum — important on gravel or in muddy situations.
Tow/Haul: Modifies the transmission calibration so that shift points are higher, allowing the engine to deliver peak power. It also initiates downshifts earlier in order to leverage engine braking and reduce wear on brake components. Tow/Haul also engages Grade Braking functionality so that on long, downhill stretches, a light touch of the brake pedal can initiate a downshift to slow the vehicle more efficiently.
The Autotrac 2-Speed Transfer Case, standard on Sierra Denali, offers a mechanical low range to provide amplified torque at low speeds — ideal for use on severe off-road terrain, slippery boat launches and in other low-traction situations.

Next-generation Sierra models, including the Denali, also feature a new electro-hydraulic power brake boost system rather than a conventional vacuum-assist system, for strong, smooth and consistent brake pedal feel when the bed is loaded or when trailering. The four-wheel disc brake system also features larger-diameter Duralife brake rotors and larger brake pads to support its performance capability.

Segment’s most-powerful V-8 engine
The 2019 Sierra Denali’s available 6.2L V-8 engine is the segment’s largest displacement engine and most powerful, rated at an SAE-certified at 420 horsepower (313 kW) and 460 lb-ft of torque (623 Nm). It is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Dynamic Fuel Management (DFM) debuts with the engine, offering industry-first cylinder deactivation technology that enables it to operate in 17 different patterns between two and eight cylinders, depending on demand, to optimize power delivery and efficiency.

Sierra Denalis equipped with the optional 6.2L V-8 include a 10-speed automatic transmission designed to improve shift quality. It incorporates a new centrifugal pendulum absorber torque converter that reduces vibrations to improve smoothness, particularly during cylinder deactivation events.

Advanced connectivity
An 8-inch-diagonal GMC Premium Infotainment System with a high-resolution color touchscreen and embedded navigation that incorporates Apple CarPlay and Android phone projection compatibility3 is standard for the Sierra Denali. Also standard is a seven-speaker Bose® Premium Sound System with Richbass® Woofer in the center console. The infotainment system also features advanced personalization features, enhanced voice recognition functionality and offers downloadable in-vehicle apps, including Spotify, USA Today and FOX Sports.

Simple and easy to use, an all-new in-vehicle Trailering App utilizes sensors and cameras to help ease the process of towing in all stages: during hitching and setup, on the road and when responding to potential hazards. Features of the in-vehicle Trailering App include customized trailer profiles, pre-departure checklists, assistance while checking external lights and Trailer Tire Pressure Monitoring System (additional equipment and installation required) while offering an industry-first smartphone companion app for compatible devices.

1 Late availability
2 Limited availability later in model year
3 Registered trademarks of Apple and Android

About GMC
With a strong foundation of manufacturing trucks since 1902 and now selling in a dozen countries across the world, GMC offers purpose-built vehicles designed and engineered to the highest standard. From the all-new compact SUV Terrain to the Sierra HD, our trucks and crossovers deliver GMC’s signature combination of intuitive technologies and premium execution, with the popular Denali sub-brand representing the pinnacle of GMC design, performance and amenities. Details on all GMC models are available at www.gmc.com, on Twitter at @gmc or at www.facebook.com/gmc.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges owners of certain Toyota, Honda, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors vehicles to act immediately on recall notices to replace defective Takata airbags. Over seven million vehicles are involved in these recalls, which have occurred as far back as 18 months ago and as recently as Monday. The message comes with urgency, especially for owners of vehicles affected by regional recalls in the following areas: Florida, Puerto Rico, limited areas near the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana, as well as Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and Hawaii.

“Responding to these recalls, whether old or new, is essential to personal safety and it will help aid our ongoing investigation into Takata airbags and what appears to be a problem related to extended exposure to consistently high humidity and temperatures. However, we’re leaving no stone unturned in our aggressive pursuit to track down the full geographic scope of this issue,” said NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman.

Consumers that are uncertain whether their vehicle is impacted by the Takata recalls, or any other recall, can contact their manufacturer’s website to search, by their vehicle identification number (VIN) to confirm whether their individual vehicle has an open recall that needs to be addressed. Owners that have been contacted by their manufacturer should contact their dealer’s service department and make arrangements for the repair. In addition, consumers can sign up for NHTSA recall alerts, which go out before recall letters are mailed by the manufacturers to the affected owners.

7.8 Million Affected U.S. Vehicles, by Manufacturer, Impacted by CY 2013 and 2014 Recalls Involving Takata Airbags
Note: The list below corrects the list that accompanied our October 20 advisory, which incorrectly included certain vehicles. The numbers cited for potentially affected vehicles below are subject to change and adjustment because there may be cases of vehicles being counted more than once. Owners should check their VIN periodically as manufacturers continue to add VINs to the database. Once owner recall notices are available, owners can retrieve a copy from SaferCar.gov, or will receive one by U.S. mail and are advised to carefully follow the enclosed instructions.

BMW: 627,615 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2000 – 2005 3 Series Sedan
2000 – 2006 3 Series Coupe
2000 – 2005 3 Series Sports Wagon
2000 – 2006 3 Series Convertible
2001 – 2006 M3 Coupe
2001 – 2006 M3 Convertible
Chrysler: 371,309 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2008 Dodge Ram 1500
2005 – 2008 Dodge Ram 2500
2006 – 2008 Dodge Ram 3500
2006 – 2008 Dodge Ram 4500
2008 – Dodge Ram 5500
2005 – 2008 Dodge Durango
2005 – 2008 Dodge Dakota
2005 – 2008 Chrysler 300
2007 – 2008 Chrysler Aspen
Ford: 58,669 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2004 – Ranger
2005 – 2006 GT
2005 – 2007 Mustang
General Motors: undetermined total number of potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2005 Pontiac Vibe
2005 – Saab 9-2X
Honda: 5,051,364 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2001 – 2007 Honda Accord)
2001 – 2002 Honda Accord
2001 – 2005 Honda Civic
2002 – 2006 Honda CR-V
2003 – 2011 Honda Element
2002 – 2004 Honda Odyssey
2003 – 2007 Honda Pilot
2006 – Honda Ridgeline
2003 – 2006 Acura MDX
2002 – 2003 Acura TL/CL
2005 – Acura RL
Mazda: 64,872 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2007 Mazda6
2006 – 2007 MazdaSpeed6
2004 – 2008 Mazda RX-8
2004 – 2005 MPV
2004 – B-Series Truck
Mitsubishi: 11,985 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2004 – 2005 Lancer
2006 – 2007 Raider
Nissan: 694,626 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2001 – 2003 Nissan Maxima
2001 – 2004 Nissan Pathfinder
2002 – 2004 Nissan Sentra
2001 – 2004 Infiniti I30/I35
2002 – 2003 Infiniti QX4
2003 – 2005 Infiniti FX35/FX45
Subaru: 17,516 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2005 Baja
2003 – 2005 Legacy
2003 – 2005 Outback
2004 – 2005 Impreza
Toyota: 877,000 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2002 – 2005 Lexus SC
2002 – 2005 Toyota Corolla
2003 – 2005 Toyota Corolla Matrix
2002 – 2005 Toyota Sequoia
2003 – 2005 Toyota Tundra
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Information on Consumer Recalls and VIN Fact Sheet

DETROIT – The all-new, paddle-shift eight-speed automatic transmission makes the 2015 Corvette Stingray faster and more fuel efficient, with 0-60 acceleration of only 3.7 seconds and an EPA-estimated 29 mpg on the highway.

“The Corvette Stingray is a great example of how we are leveraging engineering and technology to improve both efficiency and performance,” said Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing & Supply Chain. “No other car can match 460 horsepower, 0-60 mph in better than 3.7 seconds, and 29 mpg on the highway.”

The Stingray’s 0-60 performance is 0.1-second quicker than the previous six-speed automatic, contributing to a quicker quarter-mile elapsed time of 11.9 seconds – a 0.1-second improvement over the six-speed auto.

Its 29-mpg highway rating represents a 3.5-percent increase over the six-speed. New eight-speed models are EPA-rated at 16 mpg in the city and 20 mpg combined.

In fact, the Stingray’s stingy fuel consumption on the highway is not only better than sports car competitors such as Porsche 911 Carrera (28 mpg), Audi R8 V-8 (20 mpg), Jaguar F-Type R (23 mpg) or Nissan GT-R (23 mpg), it tops conventional cars with smaller engines, like the Subaru Outback six-cylinder (27 mpg), Volkswagen Passat six-cylinder (28 mpg) and Mercedes-Benz C350 coupe (28 mpg).

The greater performance and efficiency enabled by the available, GM-developed Hydra-Matic 8L90 eight-speed automatic is due primarily to its 7.0 overall gear ratio spread, which enhances off-the-line performance with a more aggressive first gear ratio – 4.56 vs. 4.03 on the six-speed – helping achieve the quicker 0-60 time. It also delivers world-class shift times that rival the best dual-clutch design.

Combined with a new, numerically lower 2.41 rear axle ratio vs. the 2.56 gear used with previous six-speed automatic models, engine rpm is reduced by 8 percent (123 rpm) on the highway at 70 mph. The lower engine speed reduces fuel consumption. Z51-equipped models retain a 2.73 rear axle ratio.

The new paddle-shift eight-speed automatic complements the performance generated by the Corvette Stingray’s LT1 engine – rated at 455 horsepower or 460 horses with the available performance exhaust system – which uses advanced technologies including direct injection, variable valve timing and Active Fuel Management (cylinder deactivation) to make more power with less fuel.

Advanced composite materials in the body structure and a lightweight aluminum frame, as well as aluminum and magnesium suspension components, support the Corvette’s efficiency with a low curb weight of only 3,298 pounds /1,499 kg (Stingray coupe). They also enhance performance by giving the Stingray an excellent power-to-weight ratio of 7.25 – or one horsepower for every 7.25 pounds of mass. That’s better than Porsche 911 Carrera’s 8.7 ratio and Audi R8 V-8’s 8.3 ratio.

For those who prefer a traditional manual-shifting driving experience, the 2015 Corvette Stingray is available with a seven-speed manual that delivers 0-60 times of 3.8 seconds and EPA-estimated 29 mpg on the highway.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

RALEIGH, N.C. & HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., – Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE: AAP) has acquired the DieHard brand from Transform Holdco LLC (“Transformco”), for $200 million utilizing cash on hand.

This asset acquisition will give Advance the right to sell DieHard batteries, the most trusted brand in the automotive battery category, and enables Advance to extend the DieHard brand into other automotive and vehicular categories. In addition, the deal allows Transformco to sell DieHard brand batteries through its existing channels pursuant to a supply agreement with
Advance. Advance is also granting Transformco an exclusive royalty-free, perpetual license to develop, market, and sell DieHard branded products in non-automotive categories.

“We are excited to acquire global ownership of an iconic American brand. DieHard will help differentiate Advance, drive increased DIY customer traffic and build a unique value proposition for our Professional customers and Independent Carquest partners. DieHard has the highest brand awareness and regard of any automotive battery brand in North America and will enable Advance to build a leadership position within the critical battery category,” said Tom Greco, president and CEO, Advance Auto Parts. “DieHard stands for durability and reliability and we will strengthen and leverage the brand in other battery categories, such as marine and recreational vehicles. We also see opportunities to extend DieHard in other automotive categories. We remain committed to providing our customers with high-quality products and excellent service. The addition of DieHard to our industry leading assortment of national brands, OE parts and owned brands will enable us to differentiate Advance and drive significant long-term shareholder value.”

“DieHard is among the most successful and one of the most widely trusted brands in the auto industry, and we have long believed that the brand has even more potential,” said Peter Boutros, President of Transformco’s Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard business unit.

“DieHard revolutionized the automotive battery category when it launched in 1967, and has continued to be a leader in the category. Advance Auto Parts’ acquisition of this iconic American brand will complement our plans to introduce new DieHard products in nonautomotive categories such as sporting goods, lawn and garden, authentic work wear and other exciting new categories.”

About Advance Auto Parts
Advance Auto Parts, Inc. is a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider that serves both professional installer and do-it-yourself customers. As of October 5, 2019, Advance operated
4,891 stores and 152 Worldpac branches in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Company also serves 1,260 independently owned Carquest branded stores across these locations in addition to Mexico, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and British Virgin Islands. Additional information about Advance, including employment opportunities, customer services, and online shopping for parts, accessories and other offerings can be found at www.AdvanceAutoParts.com.

About Transformco
Transform Holdco LLC is a leading integrated retailer focused on seamlessly connecting the digital and physical shopping experiences to serve its members – wherever, whenever and however they want to shop. Transformco is home to Shop Your Way®, a social shopping platform offering members rewards for shopping at Sears, Kmart and other retail partners. Transformco operates through its subsidiaries with full-line and specialty retail stores across the United States.

Alcoa (NYSE: AA) and clean technology company, Phinergy, have entered into a joint development agreement to further develop Phinergy’s electric vehicle batteries that run on air and aluminum. Announced at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference in Atlanta, the companies will collaborate on new materials, processes and components to commercialize the aluminum-air battery, which can extend electric vehicle range by 1,000 miles.

“Alcoa’s extensive technical materials expertise, along with our deep roots in bringing new products to market in the automotive industry, were of great interest to Phinergy as its revolutionary aluminum-air battery moves from research to commercialization,” said Dr. Raymond Kilmer, Alcoa’s Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. “Automotive manufacturers are looking for technologies that enable zero-emission cars to travel the same kinds of distances as gasoline-powered cars. The aluminum-air range extender has the potential to meet that challenge.”

“Electric vehicle adoption has been slowed by the limited range of regular batteries, causing what is commonly known as ‘range anxiety’,” said Aviv Tzidon, CEO of Phinergy. “With Phinergy’s technology, and Alcoa’s industrial leadership across both the aluminum value chain and the automotive market, we see an exciting opportunity to help move electric vehicles into the mainstream.”

Phinergy’s aluminum-air battery uses air and water to unleash energy stored in aluminum. According to Phinergy, just one of the 50 aluminum plates in the battery can power a car for approximately 20 miles, extending vehicle range by approximately 1,000 miles. The technology allows an energy density that surpasses conventional battery technologies and creates electric vehicles with travel distances, purchase prices and life-cycle costs that are comparable to fossil-fuel cars.

In addition to use in electric vehicles, Phinergy indicated that the battery technology can be used for stationary energy applications such as commercial emergency generators for hospitals and data centers, general purpose generators, and defense applications such as mobile housing and unmanned vehicles. It can also be used for first responders due to its infinite shelf life and high energy density. Phinergy and Alcoa are also working on the aluminum-air technology for these applications.

Alcoa’s team engaged on the project is based at the Alcoa Technical Center located outside of Pittsburgh, which is the largest light-metals research facility in the world.

About Alcoa
A global leader in lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing, Alcoa innovates multi-material solutions that advance our world. Our technologies enhance transportation, from automotive and commercial transport to air and space travel, and improve industrial and consumer electronics products. We enable smart buildings, sustainable food and beverage packaging, high-performance defense vehicles across air, land and sea, deeper oil and gas drilling and more efficient power generation. We pioneered the aluminum industry over 125 years ago, and today, our 60,000 people in 30 countries deliver value-add products made of titanium, nickel and aluminum, and produce best-in-class bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum products. For more information, visit www.alcoa.com, follow @Alcoa on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Alcoa and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Alcoa.

About Phinergy
Phinergy is an innovative clean tech company developing breakthrough metal-air technologies. Benefiting from a diversity of talents and disciplines, the Phinergy team has come up with creative ways to address traditional challenges. Phinergy’s aluminum-air energy system offers significant advantages over competing technologies, including: very high energy density, no polluting emissions, fully recyclable materials, safety and low cost.

Phinergy is a leading developer of breakthrough zero-emission, high energy-density systems based on metal-air energy technologies. The company’s primary focus is on aluminum-air and zinc-air batteries.

Unlike conventional batteries that carry oxygen, these batteries freely breathe oxygen from the ambient air to release the energy contained in metals.

This Press Release is courtesy www.alcoa.com

Buchloe, Germany – BMW of North America and ALPINA are proud to announce that the new BMW ALPINA XB7 Sports Activity Vehicle® has begun series production at BMW’s Spartanburg, SC factory, and that the XB7 “Build Your Own” configurator is now fully functional at BMWUSA.com. Incidentally, dealer and customer orders for the XB7 model have already satisfied available production capacity through the balance of calendar year 2020.

The BMWUSA.com site now features a fully functional ALPINA XB7 configurator for consumers to build examples of the 612-horsepower SAV in available colors, trims, and equipment configurations, complete with functionality to save and share example builds, and to search dealer inventory for similar matches. Traditional exterior colors ALPINA Blue Metallic and ALPINA Green Metallic will become available at later dates. Returning ALPINA customers will be eager to view the newest ALPINA wood interior trim, called Walnut Nature Anthracite (Black). An open-pore design with “floating” ALPINA logo affixed, optional Walnut Nature Anthracite joins standard ALPINA Myrtle wood trim and available ALPINA Piano Black trim, both of which were already available on ALPINA models offered in North America including the 2021 ALPINA B7 Sedan (0-60mph in 3.5 seconds, top speed up to 205mph). Additionally, US customers can view wheel and tire choices for the XB7, which begin with 21-inch ALPINA DYNAMIC light-alloy wheels with Run-Flat Summer or Run-Flat All-Season tires, and massive new 23-inch ALPINA CLASSIC forged-alloy wheels that save 28 pounds of unsprung mass and include bespoke-compound Pirelli P-ZERO “ALP” non-runflat summer tires. A compact spare is available as an option.

More than enough orders from US and Canadian dealers for the ALPINA XB7 have been received to keep the production line and ALPINA final assembly workshop busy past the end of 2020. News of the first-ever XB7 was received enthusiastically by North American dealers and customers, who began placing orders for the model after its mid-May announcement. With global sales of ultra-exclusive ALPINA models stable at just under 2,000 units annually, spotting an ALPINA model on the road anywhere in the world is perhaps only 25 percent as likely as seeing a Rolls-Royce motor car! As with any ALPINA model sold through BMW of North America, US-based BMW dealers may continue placing orders for the XB7 and will be advised regularly with lead-time estimates for production.

The hand-finished ALPINA XB7, with seating for up to seven, is the first full-size BMW SAV to receive the refined ALPINA performance luxury treatment and follows the mid-size ALPINA SAV models including the ultra-high-performance diesel XD3 model and XD4 Sports Activity Coupe (neither offered in North America). The XB7, which started production in August for September deliveries in the US market, is based on the BMW X7 and advances the merits of that model with power, handling, and aesthetic details taken to previously unseen levels of development. A small galaxy of unique ALPINA parts ensure that the ALPINA XB7 specifications include a 0-60mph dash in 4.0 seconds, a top speed of up to 180mph, handling and braking to match the power, and a look and feel signature to ALPINA, with the attention to detail clients of the boutique automaker have come to expect since 1965.

The BMW ALPINA XB7 is eligible for the Performance Center Delivery experience at the BMW Performance Driving School in Spartanburg, SC.

MARKET LAUNCH
The all-new BMW ALPINA XB7 became available to order from May 2020 with deliveries planned to commence in September 2020. Just as with the 2021 BMW ALPINA B7 Sedan, all official BMW dealers in the United States and Canada are eligible to sell and service the all-new ALPINA XB7. The XB7 has been featured on the Future Models page of the BMWUSA.com website, and the full Build Your Own page is now live on the site.

ABOUT ALPINA AND BMW IN NORTH AMERICA
ALPINA Automobiles, privately owned and operated since 1965, has enjoyed a decades-long technical partnership with BMW Group, providing development and testing services to the Munich-based automaker. ALPINA is recognized by the German Ministry of Transport as an independent automobile manufacturer. Selected BMW ALPINA automobiles (currently the B7 and XB7) are sold and serviced by the existing BMW dealer networks in the United States and Canada. These models are covered by BMW New Vehicle Limited Warranty and applicable maintenance programs.

ALPINA – MANUFACTURER OF EXCLUSIVE AUTOMOBILES

Burkard Bovensiepen founded the automobile manufactory ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen KG in 1965. Ever since, Buchloe has been home to probably the world’s most renowned automobiles based on BMW models, developed and produced by the independent family-owned business in cooperation with BMW. This close partnership forms the basis for the continued success of the ALPINA brand: individual automobiles are manufactured with great love for detail and technical finesse, which, however, at the same time meet the high quality and safety standards of series production. Since 1983, ALPINA is officially registered as an automobile manufacturer by the German Ministry of Transport, the Kraftfahrtbundesamt.

Elegant understatement is at the very core of ALPINA’s brand philosophy, which is manifested in an interior with the focus on comfort, above-average driving performance and a discreetly sporty exterior. BMW ALPINA automobiles have regularly caused sensations, both on the road and the racetrack – the result of a remarkable model history.

Founder Burkard Bovensiepen runs the company together with his sons Andreas and Florian.

BMW GROUP IN AMERICA
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 349 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 145 BMW motorcycle retailers, 121 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Argus Cyber Security Suite of Solutions integrated with Microsoft’s Azure IoT platform to provide in-vehicle and off-board monitoring, analysis, and mitigation of cyber attacks from the cloud

TEL AVIV, Israel, March 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Argus Cyber Security, a global leader in automotive cyber security, has collaborated with Microsoft Azure IoT and joined the Microsoft partner network to provide vehicle manufacturers the ability to monitor, detect, and mitigate attacks in the cloud.

Argus cyber security suite, integrated with Azure IoT for automotive applications, includes Argus Fleet Protection, an Automotive Security Operation Center (ASOC) solution, in-vehicle insights from Argus Connected ECU Protection, and update capabilities with Argus Software Updates Over-the-Air (OTA). This end-to-end cloud solution is among the first to provide vehicle manufacturers full visibility into the cyber health of their fleet with on-board and off-board monitoring.

This collaboration in automotive provides vehicle manufacturers easier access to security-related in-vehicle information as well as comprehensive coverage of security events. Argus Connected ECU Protection, deployed on connected ECUs such as telematics, infotainment centers, and ADAS units, detects operating system anomalies and suspicious activity in the vehicle according to customer-defined threat models. Threat models can be based on UNECE R 155 (WP.29), the MITRE Attack framework, or any other chosen model. Alerts from the vehicle are sent to Argus Fleet Protection where they are fused with insights from other sources in dedicated automotive threat hunting and investigation modules. By integrating end-to-end automotive cyber security with Microsoft Azure IoT, vehicle manufacturers can leverage data across a wide range of sources to build a more accurate, all-encompassing cyber intelligence picture.

Moreover, with Argus Delta OTA update technologies, vehicle manufacturers are able to implement security updates OTA to immediately reduce exposure to cyber risks, while reducing vehicle downtimes and deployment costs.

“We are very excited about joining the world’s leading companies running on Microsoft Azure. It represents a huge leap forward for vehicle manufacturers seeking to reduce their exposure to cyber risk and comply with existing standards and regulations, such as UNR 155 (WP.29),” said Miki Hakak, VP Marketing and Business Development, Argus Cyber Security. “By partnering with a global leader like Microsoft, we are making it easier for vehicle manufacturers to cost-effectively introduce cyber security into their vehicles without impacting production cycles or project risk.”

“Cybersecurity is an essential ingredient in the move toward connected and autonomous vehicles,” said Avijit Sinha, general manager for Azure Mobility, Microsoft. “Argus has comprehensive and modular solutions to ensure security across a vehicle’s complex compute capabilities and networks, whether it’s preventing attacks on safety-critical functions or the theft of personal data. Argus’ collaboration with Microsoft Azure IoT provides a path for automakers looking to execute on their goal of secure connected and autonomous vehicles.”

ABOUT ARGUS CYBER SECURITY

Argus, a global leader in automotive cyber security, provides in-vehicle solutions, professional services, and an automotive security operation center (ASOC) to protect connected cars and commercial vehicles against cyber-attacks. Customers include car manufacturers, their suppliers, and fleet managers.

Currently in production, Argus products and services help prevent, detect, and respond to cyber attacks targeting in-vehicle components, networks, and post-production fleets. Argus professional services help our customers comply with existing guidelines and regulations, such as UNECE R 155 (WP. 29) through a suite of tailored consulting services that help integrate cyber security practices and processes into the entire product lifecycle. Argus’ innovative methods and solutions are based on decades of cyber security and automotive research and have culminated in over 70 granted and pending patents.

Founded in 2013, Argus is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, with offices in Michigan, Stuttgart, Tokyo, Shanghai and Korea. Argus is an independent subsidiary of Elektrobit, a leading provider of automotive software products and services. Visit Argus Cyber Security at https://www.argus-sec.com.

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. … BMW announced today that it has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the company’s intent to voluntarily recall all model year 2000 – 2006 BMW

3 Series vehicles, produced between May 1999 and August 2006, to replace the passenger-side front airbag as part of a worldwide recall. Potential problems with the airbag inflator which may rupture in vehicles produced by other manufacturers using similar systems from the same supplier have become evident in rare cases. BMW is not aware of a case involving a BMW vehicle. The replacement campaign is a voluntary precautionary measure that aims at minimizing the risk of faulty airbag activation. The number of potentially affected vehicles in the US is approximately 574,000.

This is a voluntary extension of the recall campaign announced in May 2013. At that time, the supplier stated a production period during which potentially faulty airbag inflators were installed in passenger-side front airbags. Following this, BMW recalled 42,000 3 Series vehicles in the US. The supplier has now extended the production period.

In order to ensure maximum safety of our customers, BMW has decided to replace the passenger-side front airbags in the vehicles from the suggested production period, and additionally as a voluntary precautionary measure, the passenger-side front airbags in all model year 2000 – 2006 BMW 3 Series vehicles equipped with this airbag module. The 42,000 units recalled in May 2013 are excluded from the current replacement campaign.

BMW will notify customers with potentially affected vehicles will be informed by mail. Customers with questions should contact BMW Customer Relations at 1-800-525-7417 or email customer.relations@bmwna.com.

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 and X4 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 339 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 139 BMW motorcycle retailers, 120 MINI passenger car dealers, and 35 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

NEW YORK — General Motors will auction the final production seventh generation Chevrolet Corvette this summer, with the proceeds benefiting the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

The announcement, along with confirmation of the Next Generation Corvette’s development, was made this evening by General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra, who was honored at the foundation’s annual Footsteps to the Future Gala in New York.

“GM, GMC and Chevrolet support the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and its commitment to injured and fallen military members, first responders and their families,” said Barra. “The sale of this iconic Corvette will help the foundation continue its good work, and pave the way for the Next Generation Corvette that we will introduce on July 18.”

The final seventh gen Corvette — a black 2019 Z06 model — will be auctioned at the Barrett-Jackson Northeast sale in Connecticut June 28. Registration information is available at www.barrett-jackson.com.

Every dollar of the winning bid will go to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, named for New York City firefighter Stephen Siller, who died during the Sept. 11 attacks.

The foundation builds mortgage-free, accessible smart homes for the most catastrophically injured service members and helps pay off the mortgages for families of first responders killed in the line of duty. More information is available at www.tunnel2towers.org.

“The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation thanks GM, GMC and Chevrolet for supporting the brave men and women of our armed forces and our first responders,” said Frank Siller, chairman and CEO. “This generous gift will help us provide more injured veterans with the independence they deserve.”

For the past five years, GMC has supported the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation as its national foundation of choice. In that time, it has helped the foundation raise more than $10 million. That includes $2.2 million raised last year, with $925,000 of it coming from the auction of the first production 2019 Corvette ZR1. It was purchased by Chevrolet dealer and NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick at the 2018 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale sale.

Other money has come from employee donations and events across the country such as 5K Tunnel to Towers races and other activities sponsored by GMC dealers.

GM is committed to helping those who have given so much for their country. GM’s current and retired workforce includes 60,000 veterans.

To obtain the latest information on the Next Generation Corvette, visit the official website linked here.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is committed to delivering safer, better and more sustainable ways for people to get around. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Cadillac, Chevrolet, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety and security services, Maven, its personal mobility brand, and Cruise, its autonomous vehicle ride-sharing company, can be found at http://www.gm.com.

Through a strategic partnership with Uber, Aurora paves a path for delivering the Aurora Driver broadly

At Aurora, we are driven by our mission to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology, and guided by our values, including focus, setting outrageous goals, and creating a culture where we win together. This focus means having clarity about where we need to go and flexibility in how we get there. Today, we’re announcing that we are acquiring Uber’s self-driving unit, Advanced Technologies Group (ATG). ATG’s team and technology will accelerate our mission and the delivery of our first product safely, quickly, and broadly.

“By adding the people and technology of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group to the incredible group we’ve already assembled at Aurora, we’re shifting the landscape of the automated vehicle space,” said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora. “With the addition of ATG, Aurora will have an incredibly strong team and technology, a clear path to several markets, and the resources to deliver. Simply put, Aurora will be the company best positioned to deliver the self-driving products necessary to make transportation and logistics safer, more accessible, and less expensive.”

The team at ATG brings expertise, passion, and determination to delivering self-driving vehicles safely to the road. ATG, like Aurora, has been heads down, focused on building. While their advances in software, hardware, product design, and more have flown under the radar, they have made tremendous headway on many fronts. They are committed to rigorous testing and have built a strong safety culture. With their technical prowess in both research and practical applications, ATG will strengthen and accelerate the first Aurora Driver applications for heavy-duty trucks while allowing us to continue and accelerate our work on light-vehicle products.

In addition to acquiring ATG, we are also announcing a strategic partnership with Uber that connects our technology to the world’s leading ride-hailing platform and strengthens our position to deliver the Aurora Driver broadly. While autonomous trucking is where we will deliver our product first, our relationship with Uber puts us in the unique position to be a leading player in both autonomous trucking and passenger mobility. In support of Aurora’s partnership with Uber, Uber is investing $400 million in Aurora and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is joining our Board.

“Few technologies hold as much promise to improve people’s lives with safe, accessible, and environmentally friendly transportation as self-driving vehicles. For the last five years, our phenomenal team at ATG has been at the forefront of this effort—and in joining forces with Aurora, they are now in pole position to deliver on that promise even faster,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO. “I’m looking forward to working with Chris, and to bringing the Aurora Driver to the Uber network in the years ahead.”

At Aurora we focus on fueling our progress through developing foundational technology, hiring amazing people, and building valuable relationships and partnerships. Today marks an exciting moment for Aurora, the people of ATG, and the future of self-driving technology. The momentum and power of our combined team creates a unique opportunity to realize our mission, and build the technology and products the world needs to make transportation and logistics safer and more accessible.

Finally, and most importantly, welcome to the team, ATG! We’re proud to have you with us.

Aurora

Aurora, founded in 2017 by the leading experts in self-driving, is delivering the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly. The company is building the Aurora Driver, a platform that brings together software, hardware and data services to operate passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and heavy-duty trucks across a range of applications. Aurora is backed by Amazon and Sequoia, among others, and tests its vehicles in the Bay Area, Pittsburgh, and Dallas. The company has offices in those three cities and in Bozeman, Montana.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers told United States and European Union negotiating teams that the industry will sponsor a study by leading research institutions to demonstrate equivalence between certain American and European auto regulations. The Alliance, along with the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and the American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC), have been actively engaged with U.S. and E.U. governments to seek a vital regulatory harmonization component to a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement.

“The U.S. and Europe have the most advanced auto safety regulations in the world, and in many cases, the differences between the standards are very modest,” said Rob Strassburger, Vice President for Safety and Harmonization at the Auto Alliance. “Mutual recognition of certain standards by the U.S. and E.U. governments will result in significant economic benefits while maintaining safety and environmental performance.”

Regulatory differences between the U.S. and E.U. can act as non-tariff barriers to trade, effectively putting a “trade tax” of 25 percent or more on products sold across the Atlantic, according to a recent European impact assessment.

The study will be conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in partnership with SAFER, a transportation research center at Chalmers University, located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Researchers will examine the degree to which vehicles produced to U.S. safety standards can be expected to provide essentially equivalent real-world safety benefits when driven on European roadways as provided by vehicles produced to E.U. standards (and vice-versa for E.U.-certified vehicles when driven on U.S. roadways).

“UMTRI and SAFER have considerable expertise in road safety on both sides of the Atlantic. We are excited that they chose to pursue this project,” said Strassburger.

UMTRI is a national leader in transportation data and analysis with over 40 years of experience with analysis of national crash datasets in the US to understand both injury risk and benefits of a variety of crashworthiness as well as crash avoidance technologies. SAFER is a joint research unit comprised of 25 partner organizations that have participated in a large number of E.U. projects on traffic safety, including in-depth data collection projects such as PENDANT, SafetyNet and DaCoTA and the major Field Operational Tests (FOTs) such as euroFOT and DriveC2X plus the networking project FOTnet.

Harmonization is an economic vitality issue, according to the Auto Alliance. Compliance with diverse national environmental and vehicle safety standards imposes engineering, design, and manufacturing constraints that can raise costs to consumers.

Manufacturing is the most important sector for a strong economy, according to Alliance opinion polling where 92 percent of those polled said manufacturing is “very” or “somewhat” important to a strong, modern economy, with only 4 percent saying it was not important. Within the manufacturing sector, the production of automobiles has a dramatic impact. Auto manufacturing depends on a broad range of parts, components and materials provided by thousands of suppliers, as well as a vast retail and vehicle maintenance network of dealers. In the U.S., 8 million workers and their families depend on autos. Each year the industry generates $500 billion in paychecks, while generating $70 billion in tax revenues across the country.

This Press Release is courtesy of Autoalliance.org

DETROIT – The SS Sedan is Chevrolet’s first and only vehicle to offer standard Automatic Parking Assist.

The technology uses sensors on the front and rear bumpers to detect the width and depth of parallel and reverse right-angle parking spaces to provide hands-free parking help.

“Even some of the most experienced drivers in the world loathe parallel parking,” said Scott Hollopeter, vehicle dynamics engineer for the SS. “Automatic Parking Assist is designed to help alleviate that anxiety in situations where more experience is required to park a vehicle.”

The system can detect obstacles, gauge the size of a parking space, assess distance to the curb and calculate optimum steering angles for each parking space. The driver, following instructions on the Driver Information Center, controls the accelerator and brake while the Automatic Parking Assist controls the steering. Signals sent from the sensors in the bumpers to the electric power steering rack allow the vehicle to steer itself into the space.

“Technologies that provide help in parking and even vehicles that can park themselves started, as most technologies do, on luxury cars but they have proliferated to more mainstream vehicles,” said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst for AutoTrader.com. “They have broad appeal from newly licensed young drivers to older drivers and are also are attractive to people who live in increasingly congested urban areas.”

For parallel parking, the driver pulls alongside a parking space until the vehicle’s rear bumper passes the rear wheel of the car parked in front of the open space. The driver then shifts into reverse and the car steers itself into the space. The backup camera provides a visual indication of how close the SS is to surrounding cars.

The reverse perpendicular parking process works in a similar way. The driver presses the Automatic Park Assist button twice and follows instructions in the Driver Information Center to safely park the vehicle.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Emphasizing safety by design, 11 industry leaders across the automotive and automated driving technology spectrum today published “Safety First for Automated Driving,” (SaFAD), a non-binding organized framework for the development, testing and validation of safe automated passenger vehicles.

These 11 leaders — Aptiv, Audi, Baidu, BMW, Continental, Daimler, FCA US LLC, HERE, Infineon, Intel and Volkswagen — comprise the broadest representation across the industry and have published, to date, the largest report on how to build, test and operate a safe automated vehicle.

The SaFAD white paper authors’ purpose is to emphasize the importance of safety by design, along with verification and validation, as the industry works toward creating standards for automated driving.
For the first time, SaFAD offers automated vehicle (AV) developers and operators a system for clear traceability that proves AVs to be “safer than the average driver” through components such as cameras or steering systems.

It is also the first time presenting a summary of widely known safety by design and verification and validation methods of Level 3 and Level 4 automated driving as defined by the SAE (J3016).

The foundation of the SaFAD white paper is its 12 Guiding Principles, which are further refined into capabilities of the automated vehicle, from which safe-by-design elements are derived to support the capability and achieve the guiding principles. “Safety First for Automated Driving” combines the expertise from key companies in the automaker, supplier and technology industries to help direct development of safe automated vehicles.

Interest and development of automated driving technology has grown at a dramatic rate the past several years, fueled by the goal of reducing fatalities related to vehicle crashes, improvement of traffic flow and the introduction of new mobility concepts. This rapid growth brings a wide range of development methodologies from established companies and the growing roster of new enterprises.

With publication of “Safety First for Automated Driving,” authors and experts from each of the participating partners will present the group’s work at industry and technology conferences internationally over the next several months.

Note: In the spirit of collaboration, the companies are issuing a common press release. Journalists seeking more details are encouraged to contact one or more of the listed media contacts.

Palo Alto, Calif. (May 10, 2018) – Poised for significant growth, Autonomic, the creator of the Transportation Mobility Cloud™ and a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Smart Mobility, has realigned its leadership team, officially confirming Gavin Sherry as Chief Executive Officer.

The Transportation Mobility Cloud™ is the first open cloud-based platform that connects the diverse components of urban mobility systems, including connected vehicles, mass transit, pedestrians, city infrastructure and service providers — with the goal of orchestrating a safer, more efficient and sustainable transportation network.

“Our goal is to be the foremost connected mobility cloud globally, and I’m excited for the opportunity to power and pave the way for future cities,” said Gavin Sherry, co-founder, and CEO of Autonomic. “By uniting all connected vehicles on a single platform, along with other transport agencies, cities, and developers, the possibilities of how we can advance and synchronize transportation and mobility are endless.”

Previously leading Autonomic’s innovation as co-founder and Vice President of Engineering, Sherry is now responsible for spurring the growth and adoption of the Transportation Mobility Cloud™, while Autonomic’s former CEO and now Vice President of Ford X, a part of Ford Smart Mobility LLC, Sundeep (Sunny) Madra will serve as a board member and advisor.

“As cities look to improve transportation options and increase livability for their citizens, enhancing mobility is key to meeting this challenge. Gavin is the right leader to take Autonomic to the next stage of growth and ensure the TMC becomes the foremost platform that developers and automakers use to deliver their mobility goals,” says Madra.

Autonomic’s executive team hails from Amazon Web Services, Pivotal, Proofpoint (NASDAQ PFPT), Greenplum (acquired by EMC) and Xtreme Labs (acquired by Pivotal). The team has a track record of delivering large-scale, high impact cloud and distributed systems and several executives were instrumental in building the first version of Amazon Web Services, and leading consumer, open source and cloud software.

Now, the team is taking a similar approach to creating a transportation platform at a scale that paves the way for all developers and automakers, in addition to Ford, to build on the Transportation Mobility Cloud™.

As part of Sherry’s appointment into the role of CEO, Autonomic’s executive leadership is elevating to further meet the needs of the industry and the company’s partners which include auto manufacturers, developers, parts suppliers and fleet operators. The executive team consists of:

Gavin Sherry, CEO
Sherry has more than 20 years of experience in data processing, machine learning and engineering large-scale Internet systems globally and will advance the company’s vision of accelerating the transformation of the transportation industry. Previously, Sherry served as Autonomic’s Vice President of Engineering. Prior to Autonomic, Sherry served as the Vice President of Engineering at Pivotal, where he was instrumental in the development of the company’s big data suite, which brought significant data warehousing and analytics to the cloud for enterprise. Leveraging his experience building open source software and data processing technologies, Sherry went on to co-found Autonomic in August of 2016 with fellow Pivotal alums Sunny Madra, Nithin Rao, Amar Varma, and Benjamin Black.

Benjamin Black, CTO
Prior to Autonomic, Black held senior technology roles at Pivotal, Microsoft and Amazon, and was an early Amazon employee who co-wrote the paper that would become Amazon Web Services. In addition, Black worked at Microsoft where he helped build Office 365, its answer to Google Apps, and prior to that founded a startup called Boundary, which monitored computer networks.

Amar Varma, COO
A co-founder of Xtreme Labs with Madra, Varma has 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and investor in high profile technology companies.

Julie Davies, General Counsel
Davies has over a decade of experience advising public and private companies, venture capitalists and corporate investors in matters arising during every stage of a company’s lifecycle. Prior to Autonomic, she was a partner in the Palo Alto office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.

Caleb Welton, Vice President of Engineering
Welton has worked in data processing and machine learning his entire career. He led the development of MADlib, an open-source scale-out machine learning library. Prior to that, he was a key member of the Greenplum Database team (acquired by EMC).

Nithin Rao, Vice President of Product Management
With over 20 years of experience combining business, technology and product strategy, Rao is a technology veteran. Prior to Autonomic, he was a key member of the product teams at Pivotal and Proofpoint.

Sunny Madra, Board Member
Madra co-founded Autonomic and served as CEO until Ford Smart Mobility acquired it in February 2018, and also co-founded Xtreme Labs (acquired by Pivotal in 2013). He is currently Vice President, Ford X at Ford Motor Company and is an experienced entrepreneur, investor and technologist.

Expanding Talent in Silicon Valley and Detroit
In addition to growing its team in Silicon Valley, Autonomic is also building a team in Detroit, investing in the community’s local talent and focusing on core vehicle connectivity and mobility problems.

In addition, the company aims to expand the reach of the Transportation Mobility Cloud™ by establishing partnerships with additional OEMs, and introducing more developers to the platform.

Autonomic is positioned to be the foremost connected vehicle cloud globally, advancing the entire transportation industry’s evolution towards synchronicity.

To find out more about joining the team, visit autonomic.ai/careers.

About Autonomic
Autonomic is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Smart Mobility and is set to usher in a new era of connected vehicles and transform how people move around cities. As the creator of the world’s foremost transportation and mobility platform for connected vehicles — the Transportation Mobility Cloud — Autonomic gives car makers and developers the infrastructure to build customer experiences for connected vehicles..To learn more about Autonomic, go to: autonomic.ai
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 202,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Auburn Hills, Mich. – Automotive research group AutoPacific has named Jeep® Grand Cherokee and Chrysler Pacifica “Best in Class Ideal Mid-Size SUV” and “Best in Class Ideal Minivan” in their respective segments.
Owners of the 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chrysler Pacifica indicated they are driving a vehicle that meets or exceeds their expectations. This is the seventh consecutive year the Jeep Grand Cherokee has won AutoPacific’s Ideal Vehicle Award for the Mid-Size SUV segment and the first year the Chrysler Pacifica has won the award in the Minivan segment.
Surveyed owners placed the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica at the top of the Minivan segment for its best-in-class vehicle. As the original creator of the minivan more than 30 years ago, FCA US has transformed the segment with firsts – notching 78 innovations through the first five minivan generations. With the introduction of the all-new Chrysler Pacifica and Pacifica Hybrid, FCA US adds 37 minivan firsts to its portfolio for an unprecedented total of 115 innovations in the segment, including the industry’s first minivan available as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
“Chrysler’s new Pacifica minivan checks all the boxes a minivan owner desires. Pacifica is the minivan that most closely meets the expectations of its buyers,” said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific. “As the inventors of the minivan 35 years ago, the Chrysler Pacifica shows Chrysler designers, planners and engineers understand minivans best.”
The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica reinvents the minivan segment with an unprecedented level of functionality, versatility, technology and bold styling. Re-engineered from the ground up on an all-new platform, the Pacifica delivers class-leading gasoline and hybrid powertrains to the minivan segment. With more than 100 available safety and security features, the all-new Uconnect Theater rear seat entertainment system, and a full array of comfort and convenience technologies, the Chrysler Pacifica is a no-compromises minivan ideally suited for today’s families and has earned its spot as the most awarded minivan of 2016 and 2017.
Jeep Grand Cherokee is the most awarded SUV ever and the vehicle that has long defined what a premium SUV should be. A refined exterior design — complete with available bi-xenon headlamps with signature LED daytime running lamps (DRL) — provides a premium appearance.
“The Grand Cherokee is a perennial best-in-class winner in AutoPacific’s Ideal Vehicle Awards,” said Peterson. “Its excellent design, capability and breadth of the product offering contribute to Grand Cherokee’s award-winning ways.”
The 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee legendary capability, world-class craftsmanship, benchmark on-road refinement and advanced safety and technology features. Legendary Jeep capability comes courtesy of four available 4×4 systems, Jeep’s Quadra-Lift air suspension system and class-leading Selec-Terrain traction management system. Grand Cherokee boasts best-in-class towing of 7,400 pounds and a crawl ratio of 44.1:1.
The 2017 awards are based on responses from over 65,000 owners of new model-year 2016 and 2017 vehicles across all major manufacturers. Surveyed after 90 days of ownership, respondents were asked what changes they would make to their car or truck in 15 key categories, including ride and handling, interior storage, safety features, power and acceleration and technology.
About AutoPacific
AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing research and product-consulting firm. Every year AutoPacific publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies on the automotive industry. The firm, founded in 1986, also conducts extensive proprietary research, forecasting, and consulting for auto manufacturers, distributors, marketers and suppliers worldwide. Company headquarters and its state-of-the-art automotive research facility are in Tustin, California, with an affiliate office in the Detroit area. Additional information can be found on AutoPacific’s websites: http://www.autopacific.com and http://vehiclevoice.com/

MEMPHIS, Tenn., – AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO), the leading retailer and a leading distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories, is hiring more than 10,000 new full and part-time employees nationwide through April to ensure its more than 5,100 U.S. stores are staffed and ready to provide WOW! Customer Service during the busiest selling season. Markets with the largest hiring needs include Northern California; New York City; Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Delaware; Louisville; New Orleans, La.; Sioux Falls, SD; and Ft. Worth and Midland, Texas.

Opportunities include Sales Representatives, Delivery Drivers, Parts Sales Managers, Commercial Sales Managers, Store Managers, and Hub Specialists. Applications must be submitted online at the AutoZone careers site, www.autozone.com/careers.

AutoZone has hired over 4,600 current and/or prior U. S. Military Service Members since 2015 and has a goal of hiring more than 20,000 transitioning service members and military veterans by 2020. High school graduates, vocational/ college students, retirees and veterans are encouraged to apply. AutoZone provides ongoing training and tools to help DRIVE your career in many exciting directions.

This spring offers a terrific time to DRIVE your career forward and be part of AutoZone’s growth and team-oriented culture. AutoZone is an equal opportunity employer. Embracing diversity is a core AutoZone Value, and our stores reflect the communities we serve.

About AutoZone:

As of February 13, 2016, AutoZone sells auto and light truck parts, chemicals and accessories through 5,193 AutoZone stores in 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in the U.S., and 451 stores in Mexico, 24 IMC branches and eight stores in Brazil for a total count of 5,676.

MEMPHIS, Tenn., — AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO), announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Interamerican Motor Corporation (IMC). Founded in 1962, IMC, which currently operates 17 locations, is the second largest distributor of OE quality import replacement parts in the United States. The company has been committed to offering an extensive parts line for all European and Asian cars. Original equipment brands are at the core of the IMC parts program.

“We are excited about the IMC team joining AutoZone. The company’s leadership in import car parts coverage will be an exceptional fit with AutoZone’s current product assortment,” said Bill Rhodes, Chairman, President and CEO. “As we expand the IMC brand across the United States, we believe the IMC business model will mutually benefit both our retail and commercial customers. The combined offering is expected to deliver value for our customers and stockholders.”

“AutoZone and IMC are a great fit,” said John Mosunic, IMC’s CEO. “This is a logical next step for both companies. AutoZone’s national footprint, exceptional culture built on customer service, and operational expertise combined with IMC’s leadership in selling to the import segment creates a powerful future growth platform.” Wells Fargo Securities served as the exclusive financial advisor to IMC in connection with the transaction.

IMC was acquired from Wulf Gaertner Autoparts AG (WGA), Germany, a producer of high quality replacement parts for the automotive aftermarket. WGA supplies product under the MEYLE and MEYLE HD brands for European and Asian vehicles. The sale of IMC was a strategic step for WGA to strengthen the focus on the production of high quality automotive replacement parts. “With AutoZone we found an excellent new owner for IMC. This will include an enlarged distribution network for MEYLE and MEYLE HD in the U.S. market,” said Dr. Karl J. Gaertner, WGA’s CEO.

About AutoZone:
As of May 10, 2014, AutoZone sells auto and light truck parts, chemicals and accessories through 4,901 AutoZone stores in 49 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in the U.S., and 374 stores in Mexico and four stores in Brazil for a total store count of 5,279.

AutoZone is the leading retailer and a leading distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States. Each store carries an extensive product line for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Many stores also have a commercial sales program that provides commercial credit and prompt delivery of parts and other products to local, regional and national repair garages, dealers, service stations, and public sector accounts. AutoZone also sells the ALLDATA brand diagnostic and repair software through www.alldata.com. Additionally, we sell automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products through www.autozone.com, and accessories and performance parts through www.autoanything.com, and our commercial customers can make purchases through www.autozonepro.com. AutoZone does not derive revenue from automotive repair or installation.

DETROIT – The Buick Avenir concept announced today ahead of the North American International Auto Show represents a collaboration of General Motors’ global designers and fabricators, who worked between studios in Australia and the United States to develop the striking design statement.

More than 100 designers, sculptors and fabricators at GM’s design studio near Melbourne, in Australia, and Buick’s North American design center, in Warren, Mich., contributed to the project, which leverages Buick’s styling legacy to explore a vision for a modern flagship sedan.

“The Buick Avenir concept showcases the very best of GM’s advanced design talent and capabilities,” said Ed Welburn, vice president of GM Global Design. “Developing a concept between studios on opposite sides of the earth is challenging and the Avenir demonstrates how Buick’s strong design heritage linked the teams with a singular vision.”

Approximately 10,000 miles and 16 time zones separated the Melbourne and Detroit-area studios. Designers shared their renderings and communicated via live conference in the middle of the day in Detroit and the beginning of the next day in Melbourne.

“As a brand with one the richest histories of design, Buick’s legacy is recognized and revered around the world,” said Welburn. “The designers in Australia understood the essence of Buick’s design language just as well as those in America, which fostered a more cohesive collaboration between teams, with seamless integration.”

Avenir’s classic rear-wheel drive proportion and exterior design theme originated at GM’s Australia design studio, while the interior theme was penned in the United States, with elements and unique cues, inside and out, shared by both creative staffs.

“Time and distance were variables, but the teams’ understanding of the project brief and the sculptural essence of Buick transcended the time zones,” said Michael Simcoe, vice president of design, GM International Operations. “GM’s global design studios are very well connected and we contribute to each other’s projects all the time. There is a tremendous understanding of the brand’s design language and passion for the future of the portfolio.”

The Avenir concept’s signature sweep-spear body side motif and nod to the “boat-tail” styling of the 1971-73 Riviera are modern interpretations of classic Buick cues proposed by Lead Designer Warrack Leach and the Australia-based staff.

The designers were given the freedom to explore form language, graphic elements and interface. The interior studios proposed a variety of ideas and, in the end, rallied around the sculpture in the interior sketch by Lead Creative Designer Blake Allen in the North American design center.

Construction of the concept took place Down Under, with the support of GM’s fabrication team, which overcame the time-zone challenge with precise communications and in-house craftsmanship.

“Simply put, Avenir is a beautiful piece of sculpture, delivered on a premium proportion that acknowledges the Buick design heritage in a very progressive way,” said Simcoe. “It has been a wonderful opportunity for all involved.”

Buick is an international modern luxury brand offering vehicles with sculpted designs, luxurious interiors and thoughtful personal technologies, along with responsive-yet-efficient performance. Buick is attracting new customers with its portfolio of award-winning luxury models in North America and China. Learn more about Buick cars and crossovers at www.buick.com, on Twitter @buick, on Instragram, on Pinterest or at www.facebook.com/buick

BEIJING, CHINA – Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU), Baidu has today announced a new project named “Apollo” which will provide an open, complete and reliable software platform for its partners in the automotive and autonomous driving industry to develop their own autonomous driving systems with reference vehicles and hardware platform.

By opening up its robust, mature, and secure autonomous driving technology to the industry, Baidu aims to build a collaborative ecosystem, utilizing its strengths in artificial intelligence (AI) technology to work together with other companies to promote the development and popularization of autonomous driving technology.

“AI has great potential to drive social development, and one of AI’s biggest opportunities is intelligent vehicles,” said Qi Lu, Group President and Chief Operating Officer at Baidu.

The name “Apollo” was borrowed from the Apollo lunar landing program — a ground-breaking project that brought together multiple forces for the benefit of society. Baidu believes autonomous driving is similar in terms of its potential to transform the world.

The “Apollo” project provides a complete hardware and software service solution that includes a vehicle platform, hardware platform, software platform and cloud data services. Baidu will open source code and capabilities in obstacle perception, trajectory planning, vehicle control, vehicle operating systems and other functions, as well as a complete set of testing tools.

The company will also initiate a partnership alliance, working with partners who will provide the best and most compatible vehicles, sensors, and other components, to achieve broad participation and collaboration and to provide references and recommendations to participants of a rapidly expanding ecosystem enabled by Project Apollo. This will lower the barriers to entry for research and development of autonomous driving technologies, making it more accessible to the general public, and accelerate the overall pace of innovation.

Baidu will first open its autonomous driving technology for restricted environment in July; it will then share its technology for cars running autonomously in simple urban road conditions towards the end of the year; and, finally, it will gradually introduce fully autonomous driving capabilities on highways and open city roads over time by 2020.

Baidu has invested heavily in the research and development of autonomous driving technology since 2015. In December 2015, Baidu conducted successful road tests for its fully autonomous cars on the highways and roads of Beijing. Baidu received an Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permit for California in September 2016, and conducted open trial operations of its autonomous car fleet in November 2016 at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province, where over 200 guest passengers were able to take the cars for a ride.

Today, a number of technology giants are active in the autonomous driving field and leading automotive manufacturers have begun to incorporate driverless technology into their own vehicles. However, until today most players have been working independently or maintained complete control over their technology. Baidu is the first among the major players to open its technology and platform to the industry.

Qi Lu added, “China is the world’s largest market for automotive sales and production. It has many car brands and an open environment that is ripe for collaboration. Baidu took the initiative to open our autonomous driving technology to the industry in order to encourage greater innovation and opportunities, making better use of our technology to drive the evolution of the entire industry. An open, innovative industry ecosystem initiated by Baidu will accelerate the development of autonomous driving in the US and other developed automotive markets. In addition, through open technology our technological achievements can be quickly applied to a wide range of fields — and accelerate even more achievements. This is a great opportunity for those talent dedicated in autonomous driving.”

Anning Chen, General Manager of Chery, a leading Chinese automobile manufacturer, said, autonomous driving technology research and development has a very high threshold. Baidu’s opening of its platform is of great significance to the automotive industry and Chery welcomes this move. He said cooperation between car brands and internet technology companies in autonomous driving would gradually generate greater innovations and benefit both sides with more data and technology sharing, and such collaborations also enable automakers to establish their own competitive advantage in intelligent driving. Our partnership with Baidu in areas of autonomous driving has entered a stage of in-depth customization, Chen said.

William Li, Founder and Chairman of NextEV, said that Baidu is very strong in autonomous driving and its expertise in artificial intelligence, data, maps and other software is very important for the industry. This coupled with an open platform and reduced hardware costs means autonomous driving may become popular faster than we can imagine. In the future, the value chain of the automotive industry will be changed and personalized experiences will be the basis for car brands and the future direction of their development.

DETROIT – The General Motors Board of Directors today announced it has unanimously elected Mary Barra as its next Chairman, effective immediately. She succeeds Theodore (Tim) Solso, who will continue serving as the Board’s Lead Independent Director.

Barra has served as GM CEO since Jan. 15, 2014.

“At a time of unprecedented industry change, the Board concluded it is in the best interests of the company to combine the roles of Chair and CEO in order to drive the most efficient execution of our plan and vision for the future,” said Solso. “With GM consistently delivering on its targets and on track to generate significant value for its shareholders, this is the right time for Mary to assume this role.”

Solso indicated Barra has set a clear vision for the organization over the past two years, formed a strong leadership team from inside and outside the company, delivered strong operating results and led the introduction of breakthrough vehicles and technologies.

“The Board has improved the overall governance of the company over the past two years and as Lead Independent Director, I expect to continue to build on this solid foundation,” Solso said. “The Board also plans to broaden its active engagement with shareholders as we go forward.”

Said Barra: “I am honored to serve as Chair of the Board of Directors. With the support of our Board, we will continue to drive shareholder value by improving our core business and leading in the transformation of personal mobility.”

Prior to being named CEO in 2014, Barra served as executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing & Supply Chain since August 2013, and as senior vice president, Global Product Development since February 2011. In these roles, she was responsible for the design, engineering, program management and quality of GM vehicles around the world.

Previously, Barra served as GM vice president, Global Human Resources; vice president, Global Manufacturing Engineering; plant manager, Detroit Hamtramck Assembly; executive director of Competitive Operations Engineering; and in several engineering and staff positions.

In 1990, Barra graduated with an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business after receiving a GM fellowship in 1988.

Barra began her career with GM in 1980 as a General Motors Institute (Kettering University) co-op student at the Pontiac Motor Division. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1985.

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world’s largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.

NEW DELHI – General Motors CEO Mary Barra concluded a three-day fact-finding visit to India on Thursday, where she met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and key stakeholders throughout the country.

“India represents a great opportunity for Chevrolet,” Barra said. “With a relatively small vehicle population and rapidly growing, young middle class, India is expected to become one of the world’s three largest markets by 2020.

“GM is working to better understand the Indian market so we can give Indian customers what they deserve – safe, high-quality Chevrolet vehicles with exceptional designs that exceed expectations.”

GM has invested about $1 billion in India to date. Its Talegaon and Halol facilities can produce more than 280,000 vehicles per year. The GM Technical Center-India is carrying out local and global engineering projects, and GM India’s growing lineup of Chevrolet models is sold through the company’s nationwide dealer network.

Barra, accompanied by Tim Solso, non-executive chairman of the GM Board of Directors; Stefan Jacoby, executive vice president and president, GM International; Chuck Stevens, GM executive vice president and chief financial officer; and, Arvind Saxena, GM India president and managing director, visited GM facilities and met with employees, suppliers and government leaders during her three-day visit that concluded Thursday.

During a Wednesday visit to the Talegaon manufacturing facility in Pune, Barra participated in the celebration of the production of the first Chevrolet vehicle for export. Vehicles initially will be exported to Chile starting later this year.

Meeting with several of GM India’s top suppliers in Pune, Barra discussed opportunities for global sourcing and improved partnerships as GM continues to localize its supply base and make greater use of products manufactured in India.

The GM leadership team also visited Chevrolet dealerships to further understand the market momentum, customer preferences and network performance.

On Thursday, Barra met with Prime Minister Modi, congratulating him on his recent victory and thanking Modi for supporting the growth of GM India.

On Friday, Jacoby addresses the annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers in New Delhi, where he will discuss the positive economic impact of the automotive industry and its importance for markets such as India.

“GM remains open to the long-term prospects for India and its automotive industry,” said Jacoby. “However, we are going in with our eyes wide open to ensure that our investment is good for India and good for General Motors.”

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world’s largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com

Crewe, Bentley Motors is today announcing full details of its pinnacle, sector-defining new model, the Bentayga.

The Bentley Bentayga combines unparalleled luxury with effortless performance and everyday usability.

With an all-new W12 powertrain, the Bentayga is the fastest, most powerful, most luxurious and most exclusive SUV in the world. It offers a true Bentley driving experience and showcases innovative technology features.

Designed, engineered and handcrafted in Crewe, the Bentayga’s styling is pure Bentley. Sculptural with an elegant, timeless execution, it perfectly balances athleticism with confidence. From the four round LED headlamps and large matrix grille, to the distinctive power line and muscular haunches, the Bentley DNA is apparent throughout.

The Bentley Bentayga boasts the world’s finest automotive cabin, with unrivalled levels of precision. The detailing in metal, wood and leather – including meticulous tolerances between elements of trim – is the epitome of modern British luxury. This level of perfection is only achievable thanks to the exceptional craft and skill of Bentley’s colleagues in Crewe.

An all-new twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre W12 engine is at the heart of the new Bentayga. The mighty 12-cylinder unit combines efficiency and refinement with ultra-luxurious levels of power and torque. With 608 PS (600 bhp / 447kW) and 900 Nm (663 lb. ft) delivering a 0-60 mph time of 4.0 seconds (0-100 km/h in 4.1 seconds) and a top speed of 187 mph (301 km/h), the Bentayga is the world’s most powerful and fastest SUV.

Wolfgang Dürheimer, chairman and chief executive of Bentley Motors, comments: “The Bentayga is truly the Bentley of SUVs. It redefines luxury in the SUV sector and offers a genuine Bentley experience in any environment, thanks to a combination of unparalleled attention to detail, go-anywhere ability and cutting-edge technology. With this extraordinary car we are looking forward to an exciting period of strong growth and sales success for Bentley. The Bentayga is the next step in our brand’s bold future.”

The Bentayga will make its full public debut at the IAA Frankfurt Show from 15 to 27 September. Customer deliveries commence in early 2016.

Innovative Features and Advanced Technologies
A suite of state-of-the-art driver assistance systems and infotainment features designed to enhance safety, comfort and convenience make the Bentayga an innovative, advanced and connected luxury SUV.

It offers the widest range of on- and off-road drive settings of any vehicle via Bentley’s Drive Dynamics Mode and optional Responsive Off-Road Setting. Up to eight modes are available, allowing drivers, at the simple turn of a dial, to select the perfect dynamic set-up for any surface or road condition. This versatility is complemented by Bentley Dynamic Ride (electrically activated 48V active roll control) and Electric Power-Assisted Steering (EPAS).

Responsive Off-Road Setting allows the customer to select the appropriate vehicle settings for a wide range of off-road surfaces, while the Driver Information Panel displays information on pitch, roll, wheel articulation, steering angle, compass bearing and altitude.

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) including Stop & Go, Predictive ACC and Traffic Assist enables the driver to maintain a set distance to the vehicle in front. Predictive ACC uses the navigation data, sensors and cameras to predict upcoming corners, city boundaries and speed-limit changes and can then modify the vehicle speed accordingly, improving both comfort and fuel economy.

In urban environments, there are a number of driver aids available on the Bentayga. These systems – such as Traffic Sign Recognition, which detects a wide variety of traffic signs and displays information to the driver; Rear Crossing Traffic Warning, which uses radar technology to detect crossing traffic when reversing out of a parking space; and Top View, a system which uses four cameras to display an overall picture of the vehicle’s surroundings – combine to enhance everyday usability.

The Bentayga is also available with Park Assist – a system that detects suitable parking spaces (both parallel and perpendicular) before autonomous steering takes over to support parking manoeuvres, even in narrow and tricky spaces.

Other innovative systems available on the Bentayga include Electronic Night Vision, which uses infra-red technology to identify potential obstacles ahead, and a Head-Up Display, which reduces driver distraction and increases safety.

The Bentayga’s all-new, cutting-edge 8” touch screen infotainment system boasts class-leading navigation technology, a 60GB hard drive, and a choice of up to 30 languages.

Rear seat passengers benefit from the introduction of the Bentley Entertainment Tablet – a removable 10.2” Android device with 4G, WiFi and Bluetooth for effortless, high-speed on-board connectivity.

Customers can choose between three different sound systems for the Bentayga: Bentley Standard Audio, Bentley Signature Audio and Naim for Bentley Premium Audio. The latter is the most powerful system in the segment, with 1,950 watts, a network of 18 speakers and super-tweeters for unrivalled recreation of the highest audio frequencies.

Sculptural Form, Sharp Lines and Elegant Execution
The Bentayga’s wheel arches, fenders and bonnet deliver a balance between sportiness and SUV presence. The ultra-sharp Bentley power line and muscular rear haunch display a taut tension in side profile, as part of the largest single-piece aluminium pressing in the automotive world. Trademark Bentley features such as the large matrix grille and B-shaped wing vents afford the Bentayga a modern, dynamic elegance.

The grille is flanked by four distinctive floating all-LED headlamps. The lights sit flush within the seamless superformed aluminium front fenders. Innovative design features, like the discreet headlamp washers contained within the outer lamp’s body-coloured centre, demonstrate remarkable attention to detail.

To emphasise the go-anywhere nature of the Bentayga, the Bentley design team have integrated a stylish skid plate into the lower section of the front bumper, just below the floating wing motif.

At the rear, within the segmented tail lights, a new ‘B’-shaped illumination graphic is incorporated that affords the Bentayga an instantly recognisable and striking night-time signature.

A combination of advanced design, innovative engineering and state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies – including the use of lightweight aluminium – has enabled a total weight saving of 236kg compared to a traditional body construction.

As standard, the Bentayga comes with a panoramic glass roof. Making up almost 60 per cent of the total roof surface, the 1.35m2 glass feature is split into two panes. The front panel tilts and slides, and the whole glass surface can be obscured via an electric, full-length roller blind.

Either side of the glass roof are aluminium roof rails that combine two different finishes – a high-gloss black base and bright anodised top section.

A new range of bespoke Bentayga alloy wheels are available, ranging in size from 20” to 22”.

The World’s Finest Cabin, Handcrafted at the Home of Bentley
Step inside the new Bentayga and you find the finest automotive interior in the world, with handcrafted wood and leather throughout – engineered with precision to deliver absolute perfection.

The attention to detail in metal, wood and leather is the epitome of modern British luxury, and is only achievable thanks to the exceptional skill of the workforce in Crewe.

The Bentayga’s cockpit sets new standards for both luxury and precision, with meticulous tolerances between the exquisite veneered woods and metal elements. The dashboard takes the iconic Bentley ‘wing’ design as its inspiration, with the beautifully finished surfaces flowing gracefully from door to door over the top of the instrument binnacles, down under the centre console and back up around the passenger side fascia and foot well.

The hand-selected veneers form pure and elegant surfaces throughout the cabin, and each of the 15 pieces are shaped by Bentley’s artisans from a choice of seven different veneers, and finished with trademark Bentley attention to detail.

Highly polished, handcrafted metal elements adorn the dashboard, centre console and doors. Trademark Bentley knurling on the drive mode selector, gear knob, iconic bulls-eye vents and organ pulls adds sophistication and tactile refinement.

Sumptuous front seats, individually handcrafted in Crewe and featuring 22-way adjustment including adjustable cushion and backrest bolsters, provide superb support and comfort for all conditions. This cosseted feeling is further enhanced with a six-programme massage system, seat heating and ventilation.

Whether selected in four- or five-seat configuration, all of the leather seats in the Bentayga are available with contrast stitching and a quilted diamond design applied to the ‘shoulders’ and bolsters, echoing the design of a finely tailored British hunting jacket.

Bentley specialists individually select only the finest bull hides, all of which are sourced from cool European climates, naturally tanned and never over-printed.. Customers have the choice of 15 colours, in three duo-tone and one single mono-tone colour split.

The four-seat configuration makes the ultimate statement in design, comfort and luxury. The two individual rear seats adjust in 18 different ways and include massage and ventilation functions as well as footrests. The veneered rear console hides additional functionality such as cup holders, generous storage areas and USB charging sockets.

The opulent feeling is completed by the fixed back, dividing the interior cabin from the boot. Also trimmed in the signature diamond quilting and including a ski-hatch, it creates an enclosed rear cabin space that sets new standards in the SUV sector.

A full-length panoramic sunroof with acoustic interlays allows ample natural sunlight to highlight the surfaces and detailing.

Activate the hands-free tailgate and not only is a large, practical storage space revealed, but also another of the Bentayga’s unique features – the optional folding event seat. Ideal for those wishing to stop for a moment and enjoy a spectacular outdoor environment or pursuit, the innovative leather-trimmed folding seat matches exactly the style of the cabin seats and integrates seamlessly into the rear of the car with characteristic attention to detail.

All-New W12 – Efficiency with Unrivalled Power and Torque
At the heart of the Bentayga is the all-new Crewe-built W12 TSI engine. This 6.0-litre twin-turbo unit combines efficiency and refinement with the luxury of unrivalled power and torque.

It is the most technologically advanced 12-cylinder engine in the world and develops 600 bhp (608 PS / 447 kW) @ 6,000 rpm and 900 Nm (663 lb ft) from 1,250 rpm to 4,500 rpm. These mighty outputs result in equally impressive performance figures. The Bentayga is capable of dispatching the sprint to 60 mph in just 4.0 seconds (0-100 km/h in 4.1 seconds) on its way to a top speed of 187 mph (301 km/h).

The new W12 uses both direct and indirect fuel injection. Switching seamlessly between the two technologies, the combination of these systems maximises refinement, delivers low particulate emissions and maximises power and torque delivery.

An impressive efficiency figure of 292 g/km CO2 is made possible in part thanks to Bentley’s Variable Displacement system, which shuts down half of the engine under defined conditions. Intake and exhaust valves, fuel injection and ignition are all shut down on defined cylinders, with the engine running as a six-cylinder for improved efficiency.

The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. The transmission and four-wheel-drive system has been strengthened to handle the demands and high torque levels of off-road driving.

In Bentley’s advanced application of Start-Stop technology for the Bentayga, coasting is also available, as the engine rests not only when the vehicle is stationary but also at ‘near to stop’ speeds.

In 5th to 8th gear, when the driver releases the throttle (at motorway cruising speed, for example) the car will open the torque converter, dropping the engine to idle and simply allowing the car to roll or ‘sail’. When the throttle is reapplied, or the car starts going downhill and detects an increase in speed, the transmission is re-engaged.

The new W12 sees a 11.9% efficiency improvement compared to the existing powertrain. The Bentayga will also be available as diesel and hybrid variants in the future.

Genuine Luxury with Go-Anywhere Ability
Never before has a vehicle so coherently combined genuine luxury with go-anywhere driving ability.

The development programme for the Bentayga has been the most exhaustive in the Bentley brand’s history, ranging across five continents. From the dirt and gravel of South Africa and the dunes of Dubai, to the muddy fields of Cheshire, and from -30°C in the frozen North Cape to searing 50°C desert heat, the Bentayga’s ability to perform on any surface and even in the most extreme conditions has been proven.

The Bentayga has also driven more than 400 laps of the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit, as part of developing the dynamic performance of the chassis and fine-tuning the relevant control and stability systems. The unique features of the Nordschleife, including the high level of topographical change, variety of surface grip levels and wide range of cornering speeds, made it the perfect place to develop the fastest, most powerful SUV in the world.

The Bentayga introduces Bentley Dynamic Ride – the world’s first electric active roll control technology that utilises an unrivalled 48V system. Inherent in larger vehicles with a higher centre of gravity, this system instantly counteracts lateral rolling forces when cornering and ensures maximum tyre contact to deliver class-leading cabin stability, ride comfort and exceptional handling.

While conventional anti-roll bars present a compromise between body control and ride comfort, Bentley’s adaptive and reactive system provides variable torsional resistance, allowing the Bentayga to be both dynamically capable and comfortable for all occupants at all times. The pioneering use of a 48V system results in silent, instantaneous responses and sufficient power on hand to deal with all road surfaces.

Electric Power-Assisted Steering (EPAS) is also featured on the Bentayga. The new system improves feedback to the driver, while providing isolation from steering kick-back both on- and off-road. EPAS also features a variable rack ratio, permitting light and fast steering while manoeuvring at low speeds, as well as a more subdued response for excellent stability at high speeds.

The Bentayga offers class-leading ride comfort, steering feel and handling thanks to the partnership of a highly sophisticated chassis and Electronic Stability Control (ESC). In addition to advanced, multi-mode Traction Control (TCS), the Bentayga also features Hill Descent Control (HDC).

HDC automatically regulates the vehicle’s speed on steep declines, allowing the driver to concentrate fully on steering and obstacles ahead. It can be pre-set at speeds between two and 30 km/h (going in either direction) and works on gradients greater than five per cent.

As with all Bentleys, the Bentayga comes with multi-mode air suspension. The Bentayga driver has four different modes to choose from: High 2, High 1, Normal and Low. High 2, for example, can be manually selected when tackling more severe off-road surfaces. Customers can also lower the rear suspension via a switch in the boot, to ease loading and trailer hitching.

Bentley Personalisation Options and Mulliner Bespoke

The Bentayga redefines personalisation and bespoke luxury. Paint, leather, veneer and lifestyle options are unlimited and tailored to the individual.

The standard palette alone comprises 17 exterior paint colours, with up to 90 hues available in the extended range. There are also 15 luxurious carpet options, seven different handcrafted veneers and 15 choices of interior trim hide, which means that customers are able to specify their own choice of luxury finish. In addition, customers can choose between a new range of bespoke Bentayga alloy wheels, ranging in size from 20” to 22”.

Six lifestyle-orientated specification packages will be available from launch, including two styling packs. In addition to these options, the Bentayga is available with the widest range of lifestyle accessories ever offered by the Bentley brand. For example, customers with an interest in watersports may wish to specify the Load-Assist Tray and Wet Gear Stowage options.
As with all Bentleys, the Bentayga can also be handed over to the highly skilled and dedicated craftspeople at Mulliner, who will respond to bespoke customer requirements.

At launch, the Bentayga is available with an exquisite integrated Mulliner Hamper Set, complete with cooler, bespoke fine Linley china cutlery, crockery and crystal glass, and storage area for dry goods. For comfort in the great outdoors, sections of the hamper can be removed and used as seats.

A bespoke mechanical Mulliner Tourbillon by Breitling clock can also be specified. The most complex of watch mechanisms, the Mulliner Tourbillon is automatically wound periodically by a dedicated high-precision winding mechanism within the car. This masterpiece is machined in solid gold (customers can select from either rose or white gold), with a choice of either a mother-of-pearl or black ebony face and decorated with eight diamond indexes.

Bentley Motors is the most sought after luxury car brand in the world. The company’s headquarters in Crewe is home to all of its operations including design, R&D, engineering and production of the company’s three model lines, Continental, Flying Spur and Mulsanne. The combination of fine craftsmanship, using skills that have been handed down through generations, alongside engineering expertise and cutting-edge technology is unique to UK luxury car brands such as Bentley. It is also an example of high-value British manufacturing at its best. Bentley employs around 3,800 people at Crewe.

Battery Council International (North America) and EUROBAT (Europe, Middle East and Africa – EMEA) announced today the update of their voluntary blood lead mitigation programs for employees of all their member companies, representing 90% of lead-based battery production in North America and EMEA. The members of both associations have today committed to reduce blood lead levels for all employees below 30 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dl) by the end of 2016.

“This is well below the limits set by current European Union and U.S. legislation and shows that the battery industry is serious about continuously improving the protection of its workers. It also shows that industry can take its fair share of responsibility and ensure the controlled conditions of work on its own.” said Alfons Westgeest, Executive Director of EUROBAT.

“In the USA we embarked on a voluntary compliance program 20 years ago and have enjoyed a great deal of success. Europe adopted its own program in 2001. Today we’re going a step further by adopting the same objectives to ensure the same level of protection of workers on both sides of the Atlantic”, said Mark O. Thorsby, Executive Vice-President of Battery Council International.

In 2012, among the members of BCI and EUROBAT, there were approximately 17,000 employees under medical surveillance for blood lead levels in the United States, 11,250 in the European Union and 1,700 in the rest of Europe, Middle East and Africa. The new objectives for blood lead level reduction of both associations will apply to all these employees.

The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration require that employees of lead-based battery manufacturing companies be removed from their jobs if their blood lead levels exceed 50 µg/dl. The BCI’s current voluntary removal level of employees is 40µg/dl and today’s announcement will lower that level to 30µg/dl at the end of 2016.

The European Union’s binding Biological Limit Value for Lead in Blood is 70µg/dl, while the Derived-No-Effect Level set by industry under the EU’s REACH legislation is of 40µg/dl. In the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa limits can vary per country. With today’s announcement, EUROBAT members commit to go well below this latter limit in the European Union by the end of 2016, as well as in all EMEA.

The major step today in improving the protection of workers is made possible by evolutions in technology, manufacturing processes and education efforts towards employees and the industry in general. “Beyond the commitment toward our employees, it is worth mentioning that lead is one of the most controlled substances in the world. Both in the United States and in Europe more than 95% of lead-based batteries are recycled to produce new batteries, placing them among the most recycled articles in the world. This is a key step to avoiding releases of substances into the environment and also contributes to a closed-loop economy and lowers the requirements for raw materials” stated Thorsby.

“In addition to that, lead-based batteries also play a great role in mitigating CO2 emissions from transport. Already today 75% of new cars in Europe are equipped with (lead-based) start-stop technology, resulting in major fuel savings – which is good for consumers – and thus in lower CO2 emissions, which is good for the environment” added Westgeest.

Courtesy of Battery Council International

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – Today, BMW is proud to be named one of WardsAuto’s 2020 10 Best Engines and Powertrains Award winners for the 382 hp B58 TwinPower Turbo 3.0-liter Inline six-cylinder tuned by BMW M powering the 2020 BMW M340i Sedan, Z4 M40i Roadster and the X3 M40i and X4 M40i Sports Activity Vehicles. The latest iteration of BMW’s iconic six-cylinder inline engine produces 382 hp @ 5,800 – 6,500 rpm and 369 lb-ft of torque at 1,800 – 5,000 rpm. Performance and efficiency are not mutually exclusive as this six-cylinder version of BMW’s modular family of engines allows the M340i xDrive Sedan to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds while still returning 30 mpg highway.

This updated award winning 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine features an aluminum crankcase and cylinder head. A new single Twin-scroll turbocharger with an integral, compact, steel exhaust manifold and impellers that weight approximately 25% less than those of preceding models, builds boost pressure more rapidly. Fuel is supplied by means of new High Precision Injection technology which allows injection pressures up to 5,076 psi. The current version of M TwinPower Turbo technology also features VALVETRONIC fully variable valve control and Double VANOS variable camshaft control.

Accepting the award on behalf of everyone at BMW who has worked tirelessly and passionately to bring the new engine to production was Ralph Mahler, Head of Product Planning and Strategy for BMW of North America. “The inline six-cylinder engine has been the heart and soul of the Ultimate Driving Machine for over eighty years.” said Mahler. “Every new updated version continues to improve the engine’s refinement, smoothness, power delivery and efficiency; all traits which are valued by our customers today and without doubt for many more years to come. We are extremely grateful and thankful for this recognition by the WardsAutos jurors.”

BMW’s inline six-cylinder passenger car engine history began 87 years ago with a 1.2 liter 30 hp version powering the BMW 303 sedan. Today, as one of the most versatile engines in the modern BMW lineup, the 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine configuration can be found powering vehicles from almost every BMW model line, with versions from 335 hp up to 503 hp.

“We tested this B58 inline six-cylinder turbo a year ago in the larger X5 and it won, with 335 hp.” said Tom Murphy, WardsAuto Managing Editor. “Now, just a year later, it comes to us in the all-new 3-Series, which is quite a bit lighter, with an extra 47 hp. The B58 was great then – it’s even better now. Stretching its legs, the M340i exhibits a glorious, throaty exhaust note, especially when cycling through gears with paddle shifters. This engine is remarkably flexible, great for daily driving and thrilling under a heavy foot.”

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 348 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 145 BMW motorcycle retailers, 121 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Berlin . The BMW Group and Daimler AG are pooling their mobility services to create a new global player providing sustainable urban mobility for customers. The two companies are investing more than €1 billion in total to develop and more closely intermesh their offerings for car-sharing, ride-hailing, parking, charging and multimodal transport. The cooperation comprises five joint ventures: REACH NOW for multimodal services, CHARGE NOW for charging, FREE NOW for taxi ride-hailing, PARK NOW for parking and SHARE NOW for car-sharing.

“Our mobility services have developed a strong customer base and we are now taking the next strategic step. We are pooling the strength and expertise of 14 successful brands and investing more than €1 billion to establish a new player in the fast-growing market for urban mobility,” said Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “By creating an intelligent network of joint ventures, we will be able to shape current and future urban mobility and draw maximum benefit from the opportunities opened up by digitalization, shared services and the increasing mobility needs of our customers. Further cooperations with other providers, including stakes in startups and established players, are also a possible option.”

“We are creating a leading global game changer. The 60 million customers we already have today will benefit from a seamlessly integrated, sustainable ecosystem of car-sharing, ride-hailing, parking, charging and multimodal transport services. We have a clear vision: these five services will merge ever more closely to form a single mobility service portfolio with an all-electric, self-driving fleet of vehicles that charge and park autonomously and interconnect with the other modes of transport,” said Harald Krüger, Management Board Chairman of BMW AG. “This service portfolio will be a key cornerstone in our strategy as a mobility provider. The cooperation is the perfect way for us to maximize our chances in a growing market, while sharing the investments.”

The two companies’ mobility services have a wealth of experience and a strong customer base, with a combined total of over 60 million active customers to date. Building on their current, highly attractive product range and robust costumer base in the key regions of Europe and America, the companies will grow their global footprint as their existing mobility services combine to form five joint ventures:

· REACH NOW offers more than 6.7 million users simple, direct access to a range of mobility services through a single multimodal platform. The REACH NOW apps will offer a range of options for getting from A to B, allowing users to book and pay directly for public transport and various other mobility options, such as car-sharing, ride-hailing and bike rentals. REACH NOW will be managed by Daniela Gerd tom Markotten as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), with Johannes Prantl as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

· CHARGE NOW is a service by Digital Charging Solutions GmbH (DCS), and its comprehensive charging network is a key contributor to zero-emissions driving. CHARGE NOW makes public charge points quick and easy to locate, use and pay for, both at home and abroad. Digital Charging Solutions GmbH develops simple, standardised access to public charge points for car manufacturers and fleet operators. With over 100,000 charge points across 25 countries, its white-label solutions are helping OEMs and fleet operators to realise their strategies for electric mobility. Customers benefit from cross-border access to one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing charging networks, with over 250 charge point operators (CPOs) to date.

· PARK NOW makes parking easier, on-street or off. The innovative digital parking service offers users the best possible parking solutions at a glance, allows them to reserve parking slots and manage their parking times, and enables ticketless entry and exit in public garages as well as cashless payment of parking fees. In addition, with the search for parking currently accounting for about 30 percent of the traffic on urban roads, PARK NOW is helping towns and cities to reduce traffic volumes, thereby helping to make city centres cleaner, healthier and more liveable. In Europe and North America over 30 million customers are already using the service in more than 1,100 cities. CHARGE NOW and PARK NOW are headed by Jörg Reimann as CEO, with Thomas Menzel as CFO.

· FREE NOW offers a variety of mobility services including taxis, private chauffeurs with rental vehicles, and state-of-the-art e-scooters, all at the tap of a finger. One of the largest ride-hailing services in Europe and Latin America, FREE NOW already serves more than 21 million customers and over 250,000 drivers, who make a valuable contribution to the reduction of traffic in city centres. FREE NOW is headed by Marc Berg as CEO, with Sebastian Hofelich as CFO.

· SHARE NOW is a free-floating car-sharing service that allows customers to rent and pay for vehicles by smartphone — anytime, anywhere. Its fleet will now be extended to incorporate a wider range of models and increase market coverage. More than 4 million customers in total currently use the fleet’s 20,000 vehicles in 31 cities around the world. Car-sharing increases vehicle utilization rates, helping to cut the overall number of cars on the roads in urban areas. Olivier Reppert has been appointed CEO of SHARE NOW, with Stefan Glebke as CFO.

REACH NOW, CHARGE NOW, FREE NOW, PARK NOW and SHARE NOW represent innovative solutions by the BMW Group and Daimler AG for cities and municipalities seeking to make their traffic more efficient and sustainable. Thanks to their established services, the joint venture group already commands significant resources to support and systematically enhance sustainable urban mobility.

“We are steering very clearly towards growth, and together we will continue to invest consistently in our joint mobility services. As well as linking in additional transport options, we want to reach out to even more people in towns and cities across the world, thereby improving the quality of urban life,” Krüger explained.

The new mobility portfolio will be easy to access, intuitive to use, and will cater to customers’ needs. Its seamlessly integrated, sustainable ecosystem will make mobility more convenient — because cities are where the future of mobility will be decided. This is confirmed by the choice of Berlin as the base for the organization’s headquarters. A hub of creativity and innovation, the German capital is an attractive location for employees and upcoming talents. The next few years will see up to 1,000 new jobs created worldwide – including in Berlin and Germany. After an initial phase of investment and growth, the new joint venture group will offer attractive profitability, which will be crucial to its success.

“As premium manufacturers, we have long been setting standards in the automotive industry and for our customers. In the premium vehicle business, we will continue to compete for customers. But our new portfolio for individual urban mobility on demand represents a logical extension to the value chain. Ultimately, we want to offer our customers as many options as possible for getting from A to B. In short, this is about driving, riding or being driven,” said Zetsche.

With their joint mobility services, the BMW Group and Daimler AG are responding to mobility needs of today and the future with a focus on cities. Digitalization is a key enabler as it creates new opportunities for individual mobility. Over time, customers will be able to use and experience additional mobility options from all-electric autonomous fleets that are available on demand, charge and park themselves, and connect with other modes of transport beyond road and rail. In the competition for the best urban mobility solution, the promise of safety and comfort by the two leading German premium OEMs provides the basis for this to happen.

Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management at BMW AG, outlines an exciting future for urban mobility:

Imagine you want to travel from Los Angeles to Berlin. In the morning, you drive your car to the airport. A parking space has already been reserved close to the gate so the vehicle can charge while you’re away. Your flight has already been booked and when you arrive in Berlin, a car-sharing vehicle awaits to take you to your hotel. Once you check in, you decide to explore the city. At your fingertips are the tools to organise a ticket for public transport and use ride-hailing or alternative concepts, such as a bike or electric scooter.

That is how we see urban mobility services of the future: as a seamless ecosystem that provides relevant options to choose from to get from A to B by linking various forms of mobility in a holistic approach. These days, we see a change in the needs and desires of our customers — especially in urban areas. But new challenges demand new ways of doing things and new alliances.

That is why the BMW Group and Daimler AG are combining their expertise and mobility services in a brand new joint venture that will revolutionise the future of urban mobility. Using digitalisation and its opportunities, together we are creating a strong new global player for customers. We want to be at home in every metropolis and create the ideal mobility offering in as many cities as possible. Our joint approach will create the perfect mobility portfolio and lay the basis for new solutions.

For you as a customer that simply means more choices. However you want to reach your destination, we offeryou a tailor-made proposal for your individual needs. In the beginning, you will have a total of 14 mobility services at your disposal — right there in your smartphone. They even complement each other very effectively and can be easily combined be it from ride-hailing and car-sharingto parking and charging solutions, or intermodal mobility and public transport.

We are starting with an existing customer base of 60 million active customers. They can look forward to a seamless mobility ecosystem, the expansion of electrical vehicles and last but not least, autonomous driving in the future. All of this will be instantly available and easily managed with a tap on your mobile device. The result: Mobility will be fully connected, seamlessly integrated into the digital world and perfectly aligned with our customers’ needs and wishes.

This approach makes the joint venture different from existing ride-hailing or carsharing providers. Our vision is to become one of the leading global providers of innovative mobility services — a true game changer for urban mobility.

Together, we’re dedicated to taking mobility for you, our customers and for cities all over the world to the next level.

Yours,

Harald Krüger

Munich. Electrification is one of the central pillars of the BMW Group’s corporate strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT and the company has announced that all brands and model series can be electrified, with a full-electric or plug-in hybrid drivetrain being offered in addition to the combustion engine option. Additional electrified models will be brought to market in the coming years and beyond 2020, the company’s next generation vehicle architecture will enable further fully-electric vehicles.

Today, the BMW Group announced that the new battery-electric MINI will be a variant of the brand’s core 3 door model. This fully electric car will go into production in 2019, increasing the choice of MINI powertrains to include petrol and diesel internal combustion engines, a plug-in hybrid and a battery electric vehicle. The electric MINI’s electric drivetrain will be built at the BMW Group’s e-mobility centre at Plants Dingolfing and Landshut in Bavaria before being integrated into the car at Plant Oxford, which is the main production location for the MINI 3 door model.

Oliver Zipse, BMW AG Management Board member for Production said, “BMW Group Plants Dingolfing and Landshut play a leading role within our global production network as the company’s global competence centre for electric mobility. Our adaptable production system is innovative and able to react rapidly to changing customer demand. If required, we can increase production of electric drivetrain motor components quickly and efficiently, in line with market developments.”

By 2025, the BMW Group expects electrified vehicles to account for between 15-25% of sales. However, factors such as regulation, incentives and charging infrastructure will play a major role in determining the scale of electrification from market to market. In order to react quickly and appropriately to customer demand, the BMW Group has developed a uniquely flexible system across its global production network. In the future, the BMW Group production system will create structures that enable our production facilities to build models with a combustion engine, plug-in hybrid or fully electric drive train at the same time.

The BMW Group currently produces electrified models at ten plants worldwide; since 2013, all the significant elements of the electric drivetrain for these vehicles come from the company’s plants in Dingolfing and Landshut. Dingolfing additionally builds the plug-in hybrid versions of the BMW 5 Series and the BMW 7 Series and from 2021, it will build the BMW i NEXT. The BMW Group has invested a total of more than 100 million euros in electro-mobility at the Dingolfing site to date, with investment continuing as the BMW Group’s range of electrified vehicles further expands.

Electrification of all brands and model series continues

The new, fully-electric MINI is one of a series of electrified models to be launched by the BMW and MINI brands in the coming years. In 2018, the BMW i8 Roadster will become the newest member of the BMW i family. The all-electric BMW X3 has been announced for 2020, and the BMW iNEXT is due in 2021.

Today, the BMW Group offers the widest range of electrified vehicles of any car manufacturer in the world, with nine models already on the market. These range from the full-electric BMW i3 to the company’s newest electrified model, the MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4*, a plug-in hybrid version of the MINI Countryman, which is produced by VDL Nedcar in the Netherlands. The company has committed to selling 100,000 electrified vehicles in 2017 and will have a total of 200,000 electrified vehicles on the roads by the end of the year.

The BMW Group has benefited from its early start on the road to electrification. Indeed, the company’s pioneering, large scale electric vehicle trial began world-wide in 2008 with the MINI E. Learnings from this project played a crucial role in the subsequent development of the BMW i3 and BMW i8, technology pioneers which themselves informed the company’s current range of plug-in hybrid vehicles.

The BMW Group production network
Strong customer demand and the launch of new models resulted in very high capacity utilisation for the BMW Group’s production network in 2016. With 2,359,756 vehicles produced for the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands, production volumes reached a new all-time high. This figure included 2,002,997 BMW, 352,580 MINI and 4,179 Rolls-Royce units. The company’s German plants, which produced more than one million vehicles, are responsible for roughly half of production volumes.

With its unparalleled flexibility, the leading-edge production system is in excellent shape for the future. Based on Strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT, it is characterised by a high level of efficiency and robust processes. The BMW Group’s production expertise represents a decisive competitive advantage and contributes to the profitability of the company and its sustainable success.

Quality and speed of reaction are key factors in the BMW production system, as well as flexibility. Digitalisation, standardised modular concepts and intelligent composite construction testify to the high level of expertise within the production network. At the same time, the production system offers a very high level of customisation and allows customer specifications to be modified up until six days before delivery.

The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2016, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.367 million cars and 145,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax was approximately € 9.67 billion on revenues amounting to € 94.16 billion. As of 31 December 2016, the BMW Group had a workforce of 124,729 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

Spartanburg, South Carolina – Celebrating 20 years of production in the USA, Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management, BMW Group, today announced plans to invest US$ 1 billion in the company’s South Carolina plant: “We will expand the plant’s annual production capacity by 50% up to 450,000 vehicles by the end of 2016. Today’s capacity is around 300,000 vehicles. This investment will also create an additional 800 jobs, increasing the total workforce to 8,800 on site.”

At the event held at the plant, Dr. Reithofer was joined by U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker; South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley; BMW Group Board member for Production, Harald Krüger; and President of BMW Manufacturing, Plant Spartanburg, Manfred Erlacher.

BMW X7 to be built at Plant Spartanburg

The additional investment will be used to increase capacity, which is necessary to meet strong global demand for BMW X models. “Plant Spartanburg was built to enhance and expand the BMW line-up, underscoring the BMW Group commitment to the United States” said Dr. Norbert Reithofer. “In addition to the X3, X5, X6, and the new X4, we are today announcing another all-new, larger X model to be manufactured exclusively at this plant for our world markets: the X7.”

Harald Krüger, Board of Management member for Production explained the important role of the US for the BMW Group production strategy: “The BMW Group strives for a good balance of growth among all markets and continents. The Spartanburg plant is an important building block in our international network of 28 production and assembly facilities in 13 countries today and makes a vital contribution to profitable, globally-balanced growth.”

He continued: “Our US plant is the best example of our successful strategy of ‘production follows the market’. The state of South Carolina has supported us as a valuable and reliable partner throughout our 20-year involvement in the region – making the United States our second home.”

BMW Group in Spartanburg: largest U.S. automobile exporter

Norbert Reithofer: “We are expanding BMW Plant Spartanburg as our center of competence for production of BMW X models and broadening our product portfolio. This expansion means Spartanburg will have the largest production capacity of any plant in our global production network. This plant already exports, on average, 70% of its annual production with a 2013 value of more than US$ 7.5 billion which, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, makes BMW the largest U.S. vehicle exporter to non-NAFTA countries.”

Since production began 20 years ago, in 1994, the Spartanburg plant has produced over 2.6 million vehicles for BMW customers around the world. Currently the BMW X3, X5, X5 M, X6 and X6 M are all produced at the plant. The event also celebrated the start of production of the all-new BMW X4. In the near future, a plug-in hybrid version of the BMW X5 will also be produced here.

BMW Group economic impact on South Carolina

In addition to its large-scale capital investments, a new study just released by the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, reports that the BMW Group has a US$ 16.6 billion annual impact on the state economy. Its presence in South Carolina supports more than 30,000 jobs throughout the state.
The study found that for every job created at the BMW plant, an additional three jobs are created elsewhere in South Carolina through the economic multiplier effect.

“This is the fifth expansion since production began 20 years ago and represents another major investment,” said Manfred Erlacher, President and CEO of BMW Manufacturing. “The increase in annual capacity, the number of models produced, and the number of jobs on site, reinforce the major role BMW is playing in the region’s economic vitality through technological innovation, environmental stewardship, and development of a highly skilled workforce.”

In 2013, a total of 297,326 vehicles were manufactured in Spartanburg, with 1,100 vehicles currently produced per working day. Total employment at the site reached 8,000 in March 2014.

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 339 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 139 BMW motorcycle retailers, 119 MINI passenger car dealers, and 35 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

This news is courtesy of www.bmwgroup.com

San Luis Potosi/Munich. High-level representatives of the Mexican government and the BMW Group officially opened the company’s new automotive plant in San Luis Potosi in Mexico today.

Oliver Zipse, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Production, stated during the ceremony: “The new plant in San Luis Potosi is an important pillar of the BMW Group’s global production strategy. We aim to achieve a balance in our production and sales in the different world regions. We want to strengthen our footprint in important and growing markets. Plant San Luis Potosi will significantly boost our regional production flexibility in the Americas. From here, we are delivering our locally produced BMW 3 Series Sedan to customers worldwide.”

The company has invested more than one billion US dollars in the new production location. The plant, which already employs 2,500 people, will have a capacity of up to 175,000 units per year once the ramp-up phase is fully completed.

San Luis Potosi will build the BMW brand’s most successful model series: the BMW 3 Series Sedan. In the company’s more than 100-year history, this iconic car has come to represent the heart of the brand, setting the standard for dynamic performance, efficiency and design.

The ceremony in San Luis Potosi was attended by guests including Dr. Alfonso Romo Garza, Head of the Office of the Presidency of the Mexican Republic; Dr Juan Manuel Carreras López, governor of the state of San Luis Potosi; Oliver Zipse, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Production; Milagros Caiña-Andree, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Human Resources and Labour Relations, and Dr Andreas Wendt, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network.

Head of Human Resources Milagros Caiña-Andree highlighted the BMW Group’s strong commitment to vocational education: “Our highly-trained employees form a strong foundation for our new BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosi and help us meet high quality standards for our premium products. Our dual vocational training programme is already in its fourth generation.”

At an innovative new training centre on the plant grounds, all new staff and apprentices are trained in the BMW Group’s latest production processes and technologies, based on the dual vocational training model. The centre is not just focused on expanding employees’ and apprentices’ technical skills, but also boosting motivation, enthusiasm and team spirit.

The plant is working with four technical institutes in this area and has already trained 250 apprentices in technical occupations.

Dr Andreas Wendt, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network: “We have a strong supplier base we can build on in Mexico, having sourced high-quality, technologically sophisticated and innovative products from here for more than ten years. Every BMW Group vehicle today already contains at least one part from one of our 220 Mexican suppliers. Our new plant will benefit from short supply routes and the high level of flexibility this gives our supply chain.”

The BMW Group has operated its own local purchasing office in Mexico since 2008. In 2017, the office relocated from Mexico City to San Luis Potosi, where it now employs 105 people. The BMW Group’s purchasing volume in Mexico reached USD 2.5 billion last year.

Focus on flexibility, digitalisation and sustainability
Hermann Bohrer, director of the Mexican plant: “The plant was designed from the start to allow us to respond quickly and flexibly to future model variants and production volumes. We use innovative Industry 4.0 technologies, including new automation solutions and modern assistance systems. Sustainability was also a major focus from the beginning – and we are setting new standards in this area.”

Latest Industry 4.0 technologies
The BMW Group used digital 3D plans during construction of the plant, both for the building itself and for the installation of equipment. During every phase of construction, architects entered specific information, such as location, dimensions and completion date into digital models. Digital 3D-scanning technology was also used during construction for the first time. Combining these two technologies allowed for real-time analysis of construction progress and cost-efficient modifications, providing the BMW Group with continuous planning reliability.

The new BMW Group plant is a pioneer in the field of intelligent maintenance. Smart Maintenance Assistant Software is being used for the first time, enabling proactive maintenance throughout the plant to be planned ahead of time, thereby increasing equipment availability. Service activities are based on current, intelligently organised system data instead of predefined maintenance intervals. Using smart devices such as tablets and smartphones, staff receive all relevant information regarding equipment status.

Various Industry 4.0 technologies are used, for example, in assembly, where screens have largely replaced paper throughout the assembly process. Two screens per takt provide staff with all the information they need – information which, in the past, was only available on paper. This digital job card is being used for the first time at the BMW Group plant in Mexico.

Robots and employees work directly alongside one another in engine pre-assembly, cooperating in a way which plays to the strengths of each. Robots have the power to turn the heavy convertor, while the employees have the manual dexterity to make the final adjustments to fit them together precisely.

New sustainability benchmarks
From the first full year of production, the facility in San Luis Potosi will be the BMW Group’s most resource-efficient plant.

Careful use of water resources is a primary sustainability objective. The site, with the production network’s lowest water consumption per vehicle produced, will be the BMW Group’s first paint shop to generate no process wastewater at all. The water needed for the painting process is reconditioned and reused.

The use of renewable energy sources ensures that the plant will be supplied with 100% CO2-free electricity in future. A solar energy plant on-site, covering an area of more than 70,000 m2, will produce part of the energy.

Production for the global market
The new plant in Mexico expands the BMW Group production network to a total of 31 locations. In line with the BMW Group’s Strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT, this ensures the company has a flexible and efficient international production network, with a good balance of value creation between Europe, Asia and the Americas.

The new location in Mexico is another building block in this growth strategy. The country is a member of the NAFTA free-trade area with Canada and the United States. It also has a large number of free-trade agreements, including with the European Union and MERCOSUR, which make it easier to export cars and import supplied parts.

The NAFTA region in particular, with its consistently high sales volumes, is a key market for the BMW Group. Twenty five years ago, the BMW Group opened its plant in Spartanburg, USA, and has since invested nearly nine billion US dollars in the site. The company will invest a further 600 million US dollars there by 2021 to gear it up for future generations of the BMW X models. The number of jobs will increase in parallel to around 11,000. In total, the company supports almost 70,000 direct and indirect jobs in the US.

The BMW Group in Mexico
The BMW Group sales company in Mexico is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The local sales company is not only responsible for the Mexican market, but also manages the company’s business strategy for the whole Latin America region, covering a total of 28 countries. Delivering continuous growth, Mexico is the most important market in this region.

In 2018, the BMW Group sold a total of 25,090 vehicles (18,501 BMW, 6,589 MINI) in Mexico – an increase of more than 13% over the previous year.

Munich. The BMW Group is well prepared to react swiftly and decisively at all times to new developments during the corona pandemic by systematically identifying potential scenarios. This approach is all the more important given that the BMW Group expects the consequences of the corona pandemic to constrain the operations of the entire automotive industry for quite some time to come. It is also becoming apparent that delivery volumes in key markets are not going to return to normal in the space of just a few weeks. The BMW Group is developing strategies for various scenarios and is prepared to take additional measures to safeguard its financial position and use its underlying strength to steer itself through this challenging phase.

“Quite clearly, the situation remains serious and market forecasts are subject to constraints under these circumstances. We are gradually ramping up our production again according to demand in each market. However, we are monitoring developments extremely closely to be able to respond with maximum flexibility,” said Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, in Munich on Wednesday. “We are keeping a tight rein on inventory levels because liquidity has absolute priority in this situation.”

At the same time, the BMW Group is keenly aware of its responsibility as an employer and as an integral part of society. It promotes the protection and health of its employees and endeavours to strike the best possible balance to ensure the enduring success of the enterprise. The BMW Group is also helping public authorities to procure personal protective equipment, providing vehicles for aid organisations, and has even started producing respiratory masks. Zipse went on to say: “We are doing all we can to leverage our expertise to combat the virus. We are contributing towards protecting public health. At the same time, we are also doing our part to help kick-start the economy and revive public life in a number of countries. Both of these factors are highly relevant and they can only work in unison.”

Setting the course at an early stage is paying off
Even in the current situation, the BMW Group’s strategic decisions are paying off. It set about meeting currently applicable CO2 targets at an early stage, an important aspect of which was the decision to systematically electrify its model range. With its Performance > NEXT programme launched in 2017, the BMW Group laid the foundations for achieving greater efficiency and stronger operating performance. It has also strategically secured access to the raw materials needed to deliver electric mobility. Since the beginning of the current year, the BMW Group has been procuring the required cobalt and lithium directly and passing those resources on to the suppliers who manufacture battery cells.

At the same time, the BMW Group remains convinced of the importance of focusing consistently on customer needs and therefore on the innovations required to meet those needs as crucial to its enduring success: “We remain focused on investing to enhance our future success. We will continue to electrify our fleet as planned and make no compromises when it comes to highly automated driving. Our iNEXT is designed to provide Level 3 performance on highways. We will also continue to invest in hydrogen fuel cell technology. Furthermore, as a dependable partner within our society, we continue to train young people,” said Zipse with emphasis. “In no way does the pandemic call our business model into question. Driven by technology and innovation, our business model will remain future-proof after the current crisis has ended.” With these aims in mind, the BMW Group continues to invest in broadening its expertise in key future-oriented fields of technology. By 2025, the Group intends to invest over 30 billion euros in research and development to further establish its role as an innovation leader.

Firm commitment to meeting CO2 targets
The BMW Group continues to work tirelessly to reduce CO2 emissions levels in its new model fleet and is again set to achieve the stipulated CO2 fleet target for new vehicles registered in Europe this year. This is around 20% below last year’s target. The Group expects to achieve one third of the required reduction through further improvements to its conventional drivetrain systems and the remaining two thirds by increasing the number of electrified vehicles it produces. The BMW Group’s efforts to meet future, mandatory CO2 and fuel consumption limits are therefore based on the combined impact of Efficient Dynamics technologies – which the Group has deployed continuously since 2007 – and the progressive electrification of its fleet. Zipse confirmed: “We remain firmly committed to the CO2 targets agreed within the European Union and to the introduction of the Euro 6d emissions standard. We simply cannot afford to rest on our laurels when it comes to protecting the environment.”

As a pioneer of electric mobility, the BMW Group is already a leading supplier of electrified vehicles and currently in the process of expanding its range significantly. By the end of 2021, the BMW Group will be able to offer customers a choice of five all-electric series production vehicles. In addition to the BMW i3, the all-electric MINI Cooper SE* went into production at the Group’s Oxford plant (UK) at the end of 2019. This year, production of the BMW iX3 will begin at the Shenyang plant in China, followed in 2021 by the BMW iNEXT and the BMW i4 at the Dingolfing and Munich plants respectively – all of which will be equipped with fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology.

The next generation of the BMW 7 Series will undoubtedly mark a new milestone. The BMW brand’s flagship also offers customers the “Power of Choice” and is set to be available with four different drivetrain types: as a highly efficient diesel- or petrol-powered version, as an electrified plug-in hybrid and, for the first time, as an all-electric BEV model, which will also be equipped with fifth-generation electric drivetrain technology. With this combination, the BMW Group is underscoring its aspiration to offer every customer the right technology for more sustainable mobility.

Investing with a sense of proportion – liquidity position remains strong
Again in the first quarter of 2020, the BMW Group incurred substantial upfront expenditure on the road to providing tomorrow’s mobility – nevertheless maintaining cost and capital discipline. At € 1,380 million, research and development expenses for the three-month period remained high (2019: € 1,396 million; -1.1%). Capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment and other intangible assets amounted to € 687 million (2019: € 999 million; -31.2%) for the first quarter.

“Our proven strategy of targeted investment with a sense of proportion applies more than ever. In view of the current situation, we will either put certain projects on hold or subject them to further review. We therefore expect to reduce capital expenditure from almost 5.7 billion euros in the previous financial year to less than four billion euros in 2020,” said Nicolas Peter, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Finance. “The BMW Group has additionally bolstered its already strong liquidity position by increasing liquid funds to almost 19 billion euros at the end of the quarter. We continue to have the best credit rating of all European carmakers and the second-best worldwide. Our long-term strong creditworthiness enables us to continue benefiting from excellent access to international capital markets.”

Over the past three years, the BMW Group has already achieved an excellent starting position with its Performance > NEXT programme. One of the many positive outcomes of this initiative is that development times for new vehicle models have been reduced by as much as one third. On the product side, up to 50% of today’s drivetrain variants will be eliminated from 2021 onwards in the transition to creating enhanced flexible vehicle architectures. Moreover, the BMW Group’s model portfolio is regularly assessed with a view to finding additional potential ways of reducing complexity. Potential for greater synergy and efficiency in indirect purchasing as well as in terms of material and production costs is also being leveraged throughout the Group. By the end of 2022, the Group intends to save more than 12 billion euros through efficiency-boosting measures.

First-quarter Group revenues up slightly
The BMW Group delivered a total of 477,111 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles to customers worldwide in the first three months of 2020 (‑20.6%). Group revenues increased slightly to € 23,252 million (2019: € 22,462 million; +3.5%) year-on-year. Profit before financial result amounted to € 1,375 million and was therefore significantly higher than the previous year’s corresponding figure of € 589 million. However, the result posted for the first quarter of 2019 was negatively impacted by the recognition of a provision for approximately € 1.4 billion in connection with the Statement of Objections received from the EU Commission concerning ongoing antitrust proceedings. Despite a number of significant items of expense recognised within the financial result, the Group profit before tax (EBT) finished at € 798 million, still slightly higher than one year earlier (2019: € 762 million; +4.7%). Items influencing the first-quarter financial result included negative valuation effects arising on interest rate hedges due to lower interest rates in the USA. In addition, a one-time revaluation gain arising on the pooling of mobility services with the Daimler Group had positively impacted other financial result in 2019. The Group’s EBT margin for the first quarter came in at 3.4% (2019: 3.4%). Group net profit for the period amounted to € 574 million (2019: € 588 million; -2.4%).

Automotive segment achieves good product mix
Automotive segment revenues between January and March totalled € 17,989 million (2019: € 19,213 million; -6.4%). Positive product mix effects and improved selling prices on the back of the further rejuvenated vehicle range cushioned the impact of the significant drop in volumes. Segment EBIT amounted to € 229 million (2019: negative EBIT of € 310 million), giving an EBIT margin of 1.3 % (2019: -1.6%).

In total, 411,809 BMW brand vehicles were delivered in the first three months of the year (-20.1 %). The MINI brand delivered 64,449 units during this period (‑23.4%). Rolls-Royce Motor Cars handed over 853 vehicles (-27.2%) to customers during the first quarter.

In total, 30,692 electrified BMW and MINI brand vehicles were delivered worldwide (+13.9%). “We are therefore well on track for meeting the EU’s CO2 targets,” pointed out Zipse.

A total of 221,024 (-18.3 %) BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles were delivered to customers in the Europe region during the first three months of the year. In Germany, with a total of 66,004 vehicles delivered, the year-on-year decrease (‑8.8%) was less pronounced than that seen across the market as a whole. The number of vehicles delivered to customers in China was down by 30.9% in the first quarter (116,577 units). The trend reversal in March and April is an encouraging sign that points to a market recovery. Similarly, the latest figures from South Korea indicate a move in the right direction. In the USA, the BMW Group sold a total of 64,956 (-17.4%) units during the first three months of the year, of which 59,455 (-15.3%) were BMW brand vehicles.

Motorcycles segment deliveries moderately lower
BMW Motorrad handed over 34,774 motorcycles and maxi-scooters to customers during the first quarter (-9.9%). Segment revenues totalled € 557 million (2019: € 586 million; -4.9%). EBIT declined to € 72 million (2019: € 89 million; -19.1%), giving a segment EBIT margin of 12.9% (2019: 15.2%).

Financial Services segment increases revenues
The retail customer contract portfolio under management within the Financial Services segment grew by 0.5% to stand at 5,516,068 contracts at 31 March 2020 (31 December 2019: 5,486,319 contracts). During the first quarter, 449,687 new credit financing and lease contracts were signed with retail customers (2019: 469,624 contracts; -4.2%). Segment revenues increased to € 7,598 million (2019: € 7,146 million; +6.3%). Profit before tax amounted to € 484 million (2019: € 627 million; -22.8%). A significant reason for the deterioration in earnings was the increased risk provisioning expense recorded in conjunction with the expected consequences of measures taken by governments to contain the corona pandemic.

BMW Group updates target for Automotive segment EBIT margin
The BMW Group sets itself ambitious targets, even in politically and economically turbulent times. However, the uncertainty surrounding the global spread of coronavirus and its consequences makes it difficult to accurately forecast the BMW Group’s business performance for the financial year 2020. The BMW Group still expects the spread of coronavirus and the necessary containment measures to seriously dampen demand across all major markets over the entire year 2020.

Against this background, Automotive segment deliveries to customers worldwide in 2020 are expected to be significantly down year-on-year. Consequently, Automotive segment earnings are forecast to deteriorate, particularly in the first half of the year. As announced on May 5th the company has widened the guided range for the EBIT margin of the Automotive segment due to the extremely volatile situation. The company now expects the EBIT margin for 2020 to be within the range of 0% and 3%.

In the Financial Services segment, the number of new contracts is expected to decrease and the refinancing cost to increase. The return on equity is now forecast to drop moderately year-on-year.

Motorcycles segment deliveries over the twelve-month period are now expected to be significantly below the previous year’s level. The EBIT margin is forecast to be within a range of 3% and 5%.

Taking into account the effects described above, Group profit before tax is predicted to be significantly lower than in 2019.

The workforce will be slightly below the level of the previous year. As already communicated, reductions in staff numbers due to natural fluctuation will be used to manage the workforce size. Under the current circumstances, all new recruitment will be considered very carefully.

The updated guidance does not, in particular, include, a longer and deeper recession in major markets, a more severe economic slow-down in China as a result of recessions in other parts of the world, significant market distortions due to an even stronger competitive environment and possible implications caused by a second wave of infections and associated containment measures. The BMW Group continues to monitor further developments closely and is well prepared to take any necessary measures at short notice.

Munich. In the course of a challenging financial year 2018, the BMW Group made important strategic decisions set to secure its long-term success. As part of the company’s Strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT, the green light was given to launch a new product offensive in the upper luxury class and the cornerstone was laid for additional expansion of the company’s presence in China, the world’s largest automobile market. With the BMW Vision iNEXT, the Group also presented its new technology flagship, which integrates the key future-oriented topics of autonomous driving, connectivity, electrification and services (ACES). The BMW Group continues to systematically broaden its range of electrified models and is increasingly focusing on co-operations in the fields of mobility services and autonomous driving. At the same time, especially during the second half of the year, business performance was impacted by significant challenges relevant to the entire sector, and which are expected to accompany the BMW Group beyond 2018.

“2018 was a challenging year for the automotive sector as a whole. Nevertheless, we achieved the second-highest Group profit to date,” said Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, in Munich on Friday. “The challenges facing the entire sector are unlikely to diminish in the coming months. Great efforts will therefore be needed across the entire Group to help shape the sector’s transformation under such conditions.”

Alongside the challenges facing the entire industry over the past year, from the BMW Group’s perspective, ongoing international trade conflicts also contributed to a tightening market situation and greater uncertainty. Moreover, the shift to the new WLTP test cycle caused significant supply distortions on several European markets, leading to unexpectedly intense competition. In the third quarter of the financial year 2018, increased statutory and non-statutory warranty measures resulted in significantly higher additions to provisions in the Automotive segment.

“We expect strong headwinds to continue to effect the entire sector in 2019. However, we are tackling these various challenges systematically, in order to emerge from them even stronger than before,” stated Nicolas Peter, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Finance. “This is why we launched our Performance > NEXT programme back in 2017 with the aim of optimising performance, improving structural efficiency and reducing complexity wherever possible. In view of current developments, we intend to further broaden and significantly intensify these efforts.”

The BMW Group currently sees challenges in various areas, including political uncertainty, a cooling global economy (partly due to international trade conflicts), rising production costs to meet regulatory requirements, exchange rate effects and rising raw materials prices. To counteract these negative factors, measures already in place to reduce product portfolio complexity are being expanded and also applied to model derivatives. For example, despite a good level of demand, no successor model will be developed for the current generation of the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo.

High upfront expenditures in a volatile environment
Despite the demanding conditions, the BMW Group continues to invest substantial amounts in the mobility of the future. At € 5,029 million, capital expenditure in 2018 was 7.3% above the previous year’s high level (€ 4,688 million). The Capex ratio rose to 5.2% (2017: 4.8%). Investments included work connected with the introduction of new models in the Spartanburg, Dingolfing and Munich plants and building of the Group’s plant in Mexico. As planned, research and development expenses in 2018 were significantly higher than in the previous year and totalled € 6,890 million (2017: € 6,108 million; +12.8%). R&D expenditure for the year was therefore equivalent to 7.1% of Group revenues (2017: 6.2%). In addition to ramping up the roll-out of new models, the focus is also on future-oriented topics such as autonomous driving and the systematic expansion of electric mobility.

Pioneer of electric mobility systematically expanding product range

With more than 350,000 units (over 130,000 fully electric vehicles and more than 220,000 plug-in hybrids) delivered to customers up to the end of 2018, the BMW Group is already a leading supplier of electrified vehicles. At the beginning of March, the new plug-in hybrid versions of the BMW 3 Series, BMW 7 Series, BMW X5 and BMW X3, which now come with extended electric range, were showcased at the Geneva Motor Show. By the end of next year, the BMW Group will have more than ten new or revised models equipped with fourth-generation electric drivetrain technology (“Gen 4”) on the roads.

By the end of 2019, these will include the all-electric MINI Electric manufactured at the Oxford plant and, from 2020, the BMW iX3, which will be produced for the world market in Shenyang, China. Together with the pioneering BMW i3, the BMW i4 and the BMW iNEXT, the Group will have five all-electric models on the market by 2021 and the number is scheduled to rise to at least twelve models by 2025. Including the rapidly growing range of plug-in hybrids, the BMW Group’s product portfolio will then comprise at least 25 electrified models.

This wide range of electrified models on offer will be made possible by highly flexible vehicle architectures and an equally agile global production system. Going forward, the BMW Group will be capable of manufacturing models with all-electric (BEV), hybrid-electric (PHEV) and conventional (ICE) drivetrains on one production line. The ability to integrate e-mobility in its production network will enable the BMW Group to respond even more flexibly as demand grows. In 2018, the BMW Group delivered more than 140,000 electrified vehicles to customers. By the end of this year, the company expects to have an overall total of more than half a million electrified vehicles on the roads.

The BMW Group is currently developing the fifth generation of its electric drivetrain, in which the interplay of electric motor, transmission, power electronics and battery will be further optimised. Integrating the electric motor, the transmission and power electronics also plays a role in cutting costs. Furthermore, the electric motor does not require rare earths, enabling the BMW Group to reduce its dependence on their availability. The fifth generation of the Group’s electric drivetrain technology will be installed for the first time in the BMW iX3 from 2020.

Cooperation for next generation of autonomous driving
The BMW Group believes long-term partnerships within a flexible, scalable, non-exclusive platform are key to advancing the industrialisation of autonomous driving. As early as 2016, the BMW Group established a non-exclusive platform with technology specialists, suppliers and OEMs to take the technology to series maturity and has now successfully consolidated work in this area at the Autonomous Driving Campus in Unterschleißheim, near Munich. The generation of technologies currently under development will go into series production as Level 3 automation in the BMW iNEXT in 2021, this vehicle will also be Level 4-enabled for pilot projects.

The BMW Group has joined forces with Daimler AG to advance the development of the next generation of technologies needed for autonomous driving. At the end of February, the two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop the technologies that are vital for future mobility. Initially, the focus will be on advancing the development of next-generation technologies for driver assistance systems, automated driving on highways and parking features (in each case up to SAE Level 4).

The BMW Group and Daimler AG view their partnership as a long-term, strategic cooperation and aim to make next-level technologies widely available by the middle of the coming decade. Combining the outstanding expertise of the two companies will boost their joint innovative strength. Moreover, it will both accelerate and streamline the development of future technology generations. The development of current-generation technologies and the ongoing collaborations both companies have in this field will remain unaffected and continue as planned. Both parties will also explore additional partnerships with other technology companies and automotive manufacturers that could contribute to the success of the platform.

Major investments in joint venture for mobility services
The BMW Group and Daimler AG are also working together in the field of mobility services, creating a new global player that provides sustainable urban mobility for its customers. The two companies are investing more than one billion euros to develop and more closely intermesh their offerings for car-sharing, ride-hailing, parking, charging and multimodal transport. The cooperation comprises five joint ventures: REACH NOW (multimodal), CHARGE NOW (charging), FREE NOW (ride-hailing), PARK NOW (parking) and SHARE NOW (car-sharing).

The common vision is clear: the five services will increasingly merge to form a single mobility service portfolio with an all-electric, self-driving fleet of vehicles that charge and park autonomously and also interconnect with other modes of transport. This service portfolio will be a key cornerstone in the BMW Group’s strategy as a mobility provider going forward. The cooperation represents the ideal approach for maximising opportunities in a growing market, while jointly shouldering the unavoidable cost of investment.

“With our Strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT, we are making consistent advances in the various ACES fields and bringing the mobility of the future onto the roads. Our path is clear: in areas with a high degree of differentiation potential, such as electric drivetrains, we will rely entirely on our own excellent development expertise; where high scalability is more important than exclusivity, we will seek to cooperate with dependable partners,” said Krüger.

Challenging conditions in the financial year 2018
In terms of its core business, the BMW Group had always expected 2018 to be a challenging year. Compared with 2017, alongside additional upfront expenditure for the mobility of the future, a high three-digit million euro negative impact from exchange-rate and raw materials price developments had been factored into expected earnings for the year. As announced on 25 September 2018, several additional factors dampened business performance in the third quarter. Unlike many of our competitors, the BMW Group implemented the requirements of the WLTP regulations early. The industry-wide shift to the new WLTP test cycle resulted in considerable supply distortions in Europe and unexpectedly intense competition, given that numerous competitor models which had not yet gained WLTP certification were registered before the 1 September deadline. Within the framework of its flexible production and sales strategy, the BMW Group responded to the situation by reducing its volume planning to focus on earnings quality. At the same time, increased statutory and non-statutory warranty measures resulted in significantly higher additions to provisions in the Automotive segment. Ongoing international trade conflicts also served to exacerbate the market situation and feed uncertainty. These circumstances resulted in greater-than-expected distortions in demand and unexpected pressure on pricing in several markets.

Nevertheless, deliveries of the BMW Group’s three premium automotive brands (BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce) grew by 1.1% to a new record figure of 2,490,664 units in 2018 (2017: 2,463,526 units). At € 97,480 million, Group revenues were at the previous year’s level (2017: € 98,282 million: -0.8%). Adjusted for currency factors, they increased by 1.2%. Due to the various adverse aspects arising in the third quarter, combined with high levels of upfront expenditure for research and development, profit before financial result fell to € 9,121 million (2017: € 9,899 million; -7.9%). At € 9,815 million, Group profit before tax in 2018 was moderately down on the previous year, but nevertheless the second-best figure ever recorded in the company’s history (2017: € 10,675 million; -8.1%). At 10.1% (2017: 10.9%), the return on sales before tax (EBT margin) exceeded the target value of ten percent.

Group net profit amounted to € 7,207 million (2017: € 8,675 million; -16.9%). In the previous year, net profit was exceptionally high due to valuation effects of around € 1 billion arising in connection with the US tax reform. Despite very challenging conditions, the Automotive segment generated free cash flow of € 2,713 million in 2018 (2017: € 4,459 million).

Based on the annual financial statement, the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board will propose payment of a dividend of € 3.50 per share of common stock and € 3.52 per share of preferred stock at the Annual General Meeting on 16 May 2019. This is the second highest payout in the company’s history. The total dividend payment will amount to € 2.3 billion, or 32.0% of net profit (previous year: 30.3%3). “The trust of our investors is very important to us,” said Nicolas Peter. “This is especially true in times when transformation and volatility are presenting the entire industry with challenges on a completely new scale.”

Automotive segment exposed to volatile business conditions
At € 85,846 million, Automotive segment revenues were at a similar level to the previous year (2017: € 85,742 million; +0.1%). Influenced by the factors referred to above and combined with high levels of upfront expenditure for research and development, EBIT was € 6,182 million (2017: € 7,888 million; ‑21.6%). Due to various adverse factors, the EBIT margin came in at 7.2% (2017: 9.2%). Profit before tax amounted to € 6,977 million (2017: € 8,717 million; ‑20.0%).

A total of 2,125,026 BMW brand vehicles were delivered to customers worldwide (2017: 2,088,283 units; +1.8%). As well as the BMW 5 Series (382,753 units; +10.2%), the BMW X family in particular benefited from strong demand during 2018, with worldwide deliveries up significantly on the previous year to 792,605 units (+12.1%). The BMW X3 made an important contribution to this performance, with deliveries up by more than one third to 201,637 units (+37.7%).

Worldwide deliveries of MINI brand vehicles during the twelve-month period totalled 361,531 units (2017: 371,388 units; -2.8%). The MINI Countryman recorded double-digit growth with 99,750 units (+17.5%). Almost every seventh MINI Countryman was a plug-in hybrid (13.3%).

In 2018, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars achieved its best sales result in over 100 years of corporate history with 4,107 deliveries worldwide (2017: 3,362 units; +22.2%). The Rolls-Royce Phantom and the new Rolls-Royce Cullinan, which has been available to customers since November 2018, contributed substantially to this performance.

While deliveries of the BMW Group’s three automotive brands in Europe remained at the previous year’s high level (1,098,523; -0.3%), the Americas (457,715 units; +1.5%) and Asia (876,614 units; +3.3%) regions recorded slight growth. In China, volumes grew significantly as local production of the new BMW X3 was ramped up in the second half of the year. A total of 640,803 BMW Group vehicles were delivered to customers in the course of 2018 (+7.7%).

Motorcycles segment revises model range
BMW Motorrad revised its 2018 product range on a massive scale, adding nine new models. Production adjustments necessary during the ramp-up phase had a negative impact on deliveries during the first half of the year. Over the full year, 165,566 BMW motorcycles and maxi-scooters were delivered to customers (2017: 164,153 units; +0.9%).

Revenues totalled € 2,173 million (2017: € 2,272 million; -4.4%). Profit before financial result came in at € 175 million (2017: € 207 million; -15.5%), corresponding to a segment EBIT margin of 8.1% (2017: 9.1%). Profit before tax amounted to € 169 million (2017: € 205 million; -17.6%).

Financial Services segment records contract portfolio growth

The Financial Services segment continued to perform well in 2018. In total, 1,908,640 new contracts were signed with retail customers in 2018 (2017: 1,828,604; +4.4%). The contract portfolio with retail customers comprised 5,708,032 contracts at 31 December 2018 (31 December 2017: 5,380,785 contracts; +6.1%). Segment revenues totalled € 28,165 million (2017: € 27,567 million; +2.2%). Profit before tax amounted to € 2,161 million (2017: € 2,207 million; -2.1%).

Slight increase in workforce
The BMW Group’s workforce comprised 134,682 employees at 31 December 2018, 3.7% more than at the end of 2017. The Group continues to recruit skilled staff and IT specialists in future-oriented areas such as digitalisation, autonomous driving and electric mobility.

BMW Group forecasts continued volume growth in 2019

In view of the ongoing model offensive, the BMW Group anticipates further volume growth in the current financial year 2019 and is targeting a slight increase in the number of deliveries to customers. New models such as the BMW X7 and the seventh generation of the BMW 3 Series are expected to provide fresh impetus. The BMW 3 Series model change is likely to dampen growth during the first half of the year.

Supervisory Board
At the Annual General Meeting to be held on 16 May 2019, the Supervisory Board will propose the re-election of Susanne Klatten, entrepreneur, and Stefan Quandt, entrepreneur, to the Supervisory Board.

Furthermore, the Supervisory Board will propose Dr. Vishal Sikka, founder and CEO of Vian Systems and former member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, for election to the Supervisory Board. After 15 years as a member of the Supervisory Board, the mandate of Franz Haniel, entrepreneur, expires at the end of the upcoming Annual General Meeting. The Supervisory Board wishes to thank Mr Haniel for his valuable and trusted cooperation during his mandate.

At a constructive working meeting with representatives of the U.S. administration, the BMW Group today took the opportunity to explain in detail the extent of its footprint in the USA. The mandate to talk about international trade politics rests solely with the relevant political institutions.

With its plant in Spartanburg (SC), the BMW Group has been a committed “local player” in the US market for a quarter-century. To date, the BMW Group has invested more than 9 billion ($9.3 bn) US dollars in Plant Spartanburg. From 2018 to 2021, we will invest a further 600 million US dollars in manufacturing infrastructure for future generations of the BMW X models.

The Spartanburg plant employs nearly 10,000 people. We will create a further 1,000 jobs by 2021, bringing the number of jobs in Spartanburg to approximately 11,000. In total, the company supports almost 70,000 direct and indirect jobs in the US. According to an independent study of University of South Carolina, the multiplier effect results in more than 120,000 jobs, if further 50,000 jobs outside the automotive industry are also taken into account.

Free trade has made the success story of BMW in the US possible. In 2017, the Spartanburg plant exported more than 70% of its total production volume of 371,316 units to more than 120 countries. China is the number one export destination followed by Germany. According to the US Department of Commerce, the BMW Group is the largest vehicle exporter from the US in terms of value.

As communicated recently, the BMW Group is considering setting up a second site for power trains in the United States. With our plant in Spartanburg and the new plant in Mexico coming on stream in summer 2019, we will increase our production in North America. We will therefore in future have the scale where a step like this may make business sense. As of today, no decision has been taken on this topic.

Woodcliff Lake, NJ. The BMW Group Technology Office and GoPro have announced the first-ever, mass-produced integration of a GoPro camera with an automobile’s on board infotainment system. In BMW Group vehicles equipped with the BMW Apps or MINI Connected option, a GoPro camera may now be configured and controlled using BMW’s state-of-the-art iDrive controller and high-resolution screen. Starting in July 2014, the integration will be functional on all model year 2012 and later BMW Group vehicles equipped with the BMW Apps or MINI Connected option, when used with a Wi-Fi-equipped GoPro camera. The updated GoPro App is now available for free in the iTunes Store (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gopro-app/id561350520).

“Working with GoPro to design this integration was remarkable,” said Phil Johnston, Head of BMW Group AppCenter USA. “’Creative’ and ‘insightful’ just begin to describe the experience. GoPro is a natural fit for BMW enthusiast drivers. The power and flexibility of the BMW Group App Integration Platform coupled with GoPro’s advanced camera technology brings new, safe, and engaging experiences to the enthusiasts that were previously not possible. When the camera is connected to the car, it allows GoPro’s app to present context-appropriate presets that allow the enthusiast to capture the perfect shot.”

“GoPro has deep roots in motorsports and is passionate about enabling drivers to capture their road or track experience,” said Adam Silver, GoPro Director of Strategic Product Opportunities. “The GoPro and BMW collaboration sets a new standard in the category and is an important first step in a partnership designed to deliver next-level integration between camera and car.”
This groundbreaking integration is designed specifically to reduce driver distraction and enhance the capabilities for which “The Ultimate Driving Machine®” and GoPro, one of the world’s most versatile cameras, are famous. In addition to aiming the camera using BMW’s large central screen, users may quickly choose between six pre-set camera modes: Leisure Drive Facing Out, Night Driving, Sport Drive Facing Out, Drive Camera Facing In, Winding Road Time-lapse, and Straight Road Time-lapse. The camera’s RECORD function may be started and stopped by the driver at will, and vital camera status indicators are displayed, including recording elapsed time, battery life, and Wi-Fi signal strength. The user may also toggle the camera’s SLEEP mode to prolong battery life between shots.

How it works.
First, the user’s BMW or MINI vehicle must be equipped with the BMW Apps or MINI Connected option, respectively. Next, the user’s Wi-Fi-equipped GoPro camera (HERO3+ and later) communicates with the GoPro App installed on the driver’s iPhone 4 or later, which must be connected to the vehicle either through the iPhone USB cable or the BMW Accessory snap-in adaptor for iPhone. The driver will access the App through the BMW ConnectedDrive or MINI Connected menu, which is displayed on the large, trans-reflective central screen (up to 10.2 inches, depending on model).

The BMW Group Technology Office and GoPro designed the on-board operating menu to streamline the camera’s operation and take full advantage of the integrated environment. Menu choices appear to the left of the screen, and the camera’s actual field of view is displayed in near real-time while the vehicle is stationary.

About GoPro
GoPro’s versatile cameras and accessories enable people to self-capture immersive and engaging footage of themselves enjoying their favorite activities. From extreme to mainstream, GoPro’s HERO® line of wearable and gear-mountable capture devices are transforming the way consumers, professional athletes, and video production professionals capture, manage and share meaningful photo and video content. Based in San Mateo, California, GoPro’s products are sold through more than 25,000 stores in over 100 countries worldwide and direct via GoPro.com. GoPro branded content is shared and enjoyed by millions of people on popular media channels such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo and YouTube.
GOPRO® and HERO® are trademarks or registered trademarks of GoPro, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 and X4 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 339 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 139 BMW motorcycle retailers, 120 MINI passenger car dealers, and 35 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

The BMW Group
The BMW Group is the leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 28 production and assembly facilities in 13 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2012, the BMW Group sold about 1.85 million cars and more than 117,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2012 was euro 7.82 billion on revenues amounting to euro 76.85 billion. At 31 December 2012, the BMW Group had a workforce of 105,876 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. As a result of its efforts, the BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last eight years.
www.bmwgroup.com

Munich/Mexico City. The BMW Group will build a new plant in Mexico in close proximity to the city of San Luis Potosí in the state of the same name. This move is in line with the company’s clear strategic policy of ensuring globally-balanced growth.

“Mexico is an ideal location for the BMW Group and will be another important plant within our production network. We will invest one billion US dollars in the new production site over the next few years. Production is planned to start in 2019 and during that year, the workforce will reach around 1,500 people,” said Harald Krueger, member of the BMW AG Board of Management, responsible for Production.

Over the medium term, several thousand jobs will be created on the plant site and in the surrounding area. The company will announce which BMW models will be built at the San Luis Potosí location at a later date.

“This decision underscores our commitment to the NAFTA region. We have been building BMW cars at our US plant in Spartanburg for the past 20 years. With a planned annual capacity of 150,000 units for the new plant in Mexico, the BMW Group will be even better positioned to take advantage of the growth potential in the entire region,” Krueger said. “The Americas are among the most important growth markets for the BMW Group. We are continuing our strategy of ‘production follows the market’,” he continued.

The company made the announcement at the “Los Pinos” Official Residence of the President in Mexico City today. The ceremony was attended by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Mexican Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal and the Governor of San Luis Potosí, Dr. Fernando Toranzo Fernández.

Mexico as a competitive manufacturing location within the NAFTA region
The large number of international free trade agreements – within the NAFTA area, with the European Union and the MERCOSUR member states, for example – was a decisive factor in the choice of location. Other crucial advantages were the highly-qualified local workforce, a solid network of established suppliers and the well-developed infrastructure. The BMW Group has maintained good relations with Mexican suppliers for many years and purchased products worth 1.6 billion US dollars locally last year.

The BMW Group has operated a local sales company in Mexico since 1994 and sold a total of 13,992 vehicles in the country in 2013. This represents an increase of almost 18.3% over the previous year. Motorcycle sales for the same period reached 2,064 units (+16.6%).

BMW Group investment in the NAFTA area
The BMW Group already announced a further investment of one billion US dollars at its existing plant in Spartanburg, USA back in March of this year. This will increase that plant’s annual production capacity to up to 450,000 vehicles by the end of 2016 and make Spartanburg the largest plant in the BMW Group’s international production network.

A further 200 million US dollars will be invested to expand the joint venture carbon fiber plant in Moses Lake, Washington. This will triple local production capacity over the long term, making the Moses Lake plant the world’s largest carbon fiber manufacturing facility.

The BMW Group will invest a total of 2.2 billion US dollars in the NAFTA region in the period up to 2019.

In parallel, the BMW Group is currently building a plant in the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil. The start of production for the Brazilian plant is scheduled for later this year.
With plants in the US, Mexico and Brazil, the BMW Group will have extensive production capacity at key locations in North and South America.

The BMW Group
With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 28 production and assembly facilities in 13 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2013, the BMW Group sold approximately 1.963 million cars and 115,215 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2013 was € 7.91 billion on revenues amounting to approximately € 76.06 billion. As of 31 December 2013, the BMW Group had a workforce of 110,351 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

This courtesy of www.bmwgroup.com

January 10, 2019 (Mountain View, CA) – BMW i Ventures announced today an investment in Tekion, a technology provider that delivers the most modern cloud platform available for the automotive retail space.

Headquartered in San Ramon, CA, Tekion was founded in 2016 by a world-class team with a unique background combining deep enterprise cloud platform understanding with automotive retail operations. Tekion comes to market with their digital Service Experience (dSE) platform, the only end-to-end digital technology for both consumers and dealership personnel that connects the entire service experience from appointment scheduling to payment and everything in-between. Thanks to a cloud-built platform with advanced machine learning and AI capabilities, Tekion can help dealers offer a personalized and seamless consumer experience.

“Tekion team has built a cutting-edge solution from ground up that seamlessly connects dealers, consumers and OEMs” said Dr. Ulrich Quay, Managing Director at BMW i Ventures. “We are convinced that Tekion will play a big part in the evolution of the dealer software industry, and we are thrilled to join the journey.”

Tekion will use the investment to expand its sales and customer support, and continue its rapid pace of product innovation.

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About BMW i Ventures
BMW i Ventures, BMW’s EUR 500 Mio million venture capital fund, invests money and resources in startups in the fields of autonomous driving, digital car and automotive cloud, e-mobility, artificial Intelligence and data, industry 4.0, shared and on-demand mobility, customer digital life, and energy services. The firm has already partnered with innovative companies such as Carbon3D, Chargepoint, Claroty, DesktopMetal, Graphcore, JustPark, Life360, Moovit, Nauto, Scoop, Stratim, Turo, Xometry and Zendrive. BMW i Ventures invests in all stages from seed and incubation to growth companies.

About Tekion
Tekion is a cloud-built platform delivering business applications that are simple, fun, cool and inherent with advanced machine learning/ AI, and Human Computer Interaction (voice, touch, vision, sensors and IoT) capabilities for a personalized and seamless consumer experience. Tekion is currently focused on delivering applications and solutions for automotive OEMs and dealers that believe in transforming the automotive retail experience. Born in California’s Silicon Valley, Tekion employs over 150 innovators globally. For more information, visit www.tekion.com

January 23, 2019 (Mountain View, CA) – BMW i Ventures announced today an investment in Urgent.ly, the leading global mobility and roadside assistance platform.

Urgent.ly provides the quickest, safest and most innovative roadside assistance service, products and technology by combining location-based services, real-time data, AI and machine-to-machine communication.

“The old model of roadside assistance must make way for a modern, more digital approach,” said Kasper Sage, Partner, BMW i Ventures. “Urgent.ly will allow OEMs around the world to provide their customers the kind of real-time and connected digital experience they now expect in everything from food delivery to ride-sharing. Urgent.ly enables unparalleled transparency connecting dealerships, OEMs, providers and customers in real time, with actionable data-driven insights to optimize the experience along every step of the way.”

Urgent.ly’s platform is connected to more than half of all U.S. roadside operators covering over 45,000 connected vehicles. Geo-location of customers and their vehicles means the best-rated and closest providers with the right equipment are algorithmically matched, assigned and dispatched to help the customer. All of these steps, including ETAs, provider tracking, communications and ratings are connected via Urgent.ly’s seamless, end-to-end platform.

About BMW i Ventures
BMW i Ventures, BMW’s EUR 500 Mio million venture capital fund, invests money and resources in startups in the fields of autonomous driving, digital car and automotive cloud, e-mobility, artificial Intelligence and data, industry 4.0, shared and on-demand mobility, customer digital life, and energy services. The firm has already partnered with innovative companies such as Carbon3D, Chargepoint, Claroty, DesktopMetal, Graphcore, JustPark, Life360, Moovit, Nauto, Scoop, Stratim, Tekion, Turo, Xometry and Zendrive. BMW i Ventures invests in all stages from seed and incubation to growth companies.

About Urgent.ly
Urgent.ly’s Global Mobility and Roadside Assistance Platform sits at the center of expanding transportation options for consumers, logistics and technology companies. Analysts are projecting travel miles to increase by one third globally by 2030, from new services, vehicles and uses. This means more things moving and more things breaking down. Urgently delivers help through a seamless, end-to-end digital platform, viewable by every stakeholder in real time. This is why Urgent.ly is the first choice of leading global brands trusted by millions of consumers across automotive, insurance, telematics and new technology transportation companies. For more information, visit http://www.geturgently.com or contact media @ Urgentl.ly.

Mountain View, CA – December 18, 2018… BMW i Ventures has announced a strategic investment in Graphcore, a company developing a new kind of computer processor and software specifically designed for machine intelligence.

Since the company’s founding only two years ago, Graphcore has helped innovators create next-generation machine intelligence solutions. Graphcore’s Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU) is the first processor to be designed specifically for Machine Intelligence and delivers higher speeds compared to conventional hardware.

“The versatility of Graphcore’s IPU – which supports multiple machine learning techniques with high efficiency – is well-suited for a wide variety of applications from intelligent voice assistants to self-driving vehicles,” said Tobias Jahn, Principal at
BMW i Ventures. “With the flexibility to use the same processor in both a data center and a vehicle, Graphcore’s IPU also presents the possibility of reductions in development times and complexity.”

The investment from BMW i Ventures is a further step towards fulfilling the company’s ambition to build a global technology company, focused on this new and fast-growing machine intelligence market.

# # #
About BMW i Ventures
BMW i Ventures, BMW’s EUR 500 million venture capital fund, invests money and resources in startups in the fields of autonomous driving, digital car and automotive cloud, e-mobility, artificial Intelligence and data, industry 4.0, shared and on-demand mobility, customer digital life, and energy services. The firm has already partnered with innovative companies such as Carbon3D, Chargepoint, Claroty, DesktopMetal, fair, Graphcore, Lime, Mapillary, Moovit, Nauto, and Xometry. BMW i Ventures invests in all stages from seed to growth companies.

About Graphcore
Graphcore’s Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU) hardware and software lets innovators create next generation machine intelligence solutions. The IPU is the first processor to be designed specifically for Machine Intelligence and delivers between 10x to 100x speed up compared to today’s hardware. Graphcore has raised over $300m in funding from leading financial and strategic investors and is headquartered in Bristol UK, with offices in London UK, Oslo Norway, Palo Alto USA and Beijing China.
More information can be found at https://www.graphcore.ai.

NEW YORK – BMW i Ventures has announced a strategic investment in Scoop Technologies, Inc., creators of the carpooling mobile application “Scoop”. Since launching in August 2015, Scoop commuters have taken more than 40,000 trips, offsetting nearly 500,000 in commute mileage for riders. Originally launched in Pleasanton, CA, Scoop now also operates commute trips into San Francisco, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and North San Jose.

Scoop partners with major employers, office parks, and local governments to offer employees an affordable and effective transportation solution. The list of employers in the Scoop network includes some of the Bay Area’s largest companies like Cisco, Microsoft, Salesforce, Workday, Airbnb, Tesla, Sandisk and more. Scoop’s partners employ more than 200,000 commuters in the Bay Area.

The Scoop app automatically connects co-workers and neighbors who live in the same neighborhood and travel to the same work area. Commuters select each trip one way at a time and choose whether to ride or drive. Scoop’s algorithm matches them to a carpool with neighbors and co-workers for the most efficient commute.

“Scoop’s carpooling offer is a great help for urban traffic and parking problems in cities, but it also enables employers in finding and supporting sustainable transportation solutions for their employees. Through this investment, BMW Mobility Services and Scoop together could offer a practical carpooling solution to a problem facing cities, starting here in the US.” said Ulrich Quay, Head of BMW i Ventures.”

“Scoop’s mission is to reduce the impact that traffic has on our lives,” said Rob Sadow, CEO of Scoop. “For most employees, driving to and from work is the most frustrating time of the day — it’s expensive, unproductive, and stressful. We’ve built an app that allows commuters to enjoy all the benefits of carpooling without the hassle. This financing will enable our team to bring Scoop to more commuters in our area and beyond.”

About BMW i Ventures
New York-based BMW i Ventures, a corporate venture capital team founded by BMW Group in 2011, provides equity financing to high-potential start-ups and high-growth companies dedicated to shape the future of global mobility. As a strategic investor, i Ventures aims to build strong partnerships with young start-ups with a high potential of making urban mobility smarter, more efficient and more flexible. Collaboration projects intend to create sustainable business value on both sides. Portfolio companies benefit from BMW i Ventures’ long-term experience, strong reach and the broad network of a well-established brand. Through its previous investments in the fields of e-mobility, navigation, parking, car sharing and intermodality, BMW i Ventures has already entered into strategic partnerships with innovative providers such as Zirx, Chargepoint, Life360, Moovit, JustPark, Chargemaster and Zendrive.

About Scoop Technologies Inc.
Scoop Technologies Inc. is a software company based in San Francisco, CA. Scoop brings the best in mobile technology to the lives of commuters and their employers. Scoop helps commuters save time and money, reduce impact on the environment, and create new social connections through easy carpooling.

Mountain View, Calif (September 12, 2019)… BMW i Ventures announced an investment in Trifacta, the global leader in data wrangling. The new capital will accelerate the company’s continued expansion into new geographies and product areas, in particular expanding upon the company’s use of intelligent automation throughout the platform.

“As we face an exponential growth in big data—from machines in our factories to connected cars on the road—we believe that Trifacta’s data prep solution will be key to accelerating the feedback loop between the hordes of data produced everyday and the types of insights and actions taken by large organizations,” said Marcus Behrendt, partner, BMW i Ventures. “Trifacta’s toolset is key to harvesting the data lakes and is therefore an enabler when shifting to a truly digital organization.”

With an exponential amount of data moving to the cloud, more data quality, preparation and pipeline workloads are moving there as well, causing an increased need to derive faster insights and deliver bottom line business results. Organizations can no longer rely on legacy, siloed data integration processes to handle the speed, scale and diversity of today’s data if they are going to take advantage of the transformational business opportunities provided by the advent of artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

“AI, machine learning and analytics have become the primary growth opportunities for the cloud today. Yet, it’s this meteoric growth that is causing barriers to success as AI projects overwhelmingly face the same problem — data quality,” said Adam Wilson, CEO, Trifacta. “As the pioneers in data wrangling,Trifacta offers the leading platform for managing data quality, preparation and pipelines that is natively integrated with all of the major cloud providers. A growing number of industry-leading organizations, including technology pioneers such as IBM and Google are choosing Trifacta to remove the critical barrier data wrangling presents to success with analytics and machine learning;.”

Through Trifacta’s unique combination of human-computer interaction, machine learning & scalable data processing it guides users through the process of exploring and preparing data. By democratizing the data wrangling experience, Trifacta empowers technical data scientists and engineers as well as non-technical business analysts to work beyond data silos to deliver quality outputs with greater efficiency to downstream analytics initiatives.

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About BMW i Ventures
BMW i Ventures, BMW’s EUR 500 million venture capital fund, invests money and resources in startups in the fields of autonomous driving, digital car and automotive cloud, e-mobility, artificial Intelligence and data, industry 4.0, shared and on-demand mobility, customer digital life, and energy services. The firm has already partnered with innovative companies such as Xometry, Yellowbrick, Zum, Urgent.ly, Lime, and Bright Machines. BMW i Ventures invests in all stages from seed and incubation to growth companies.

ABOUT Trifacta:
Trifacta is the global leader data wrangling. Trifacta leverages decades of innovative research in human-computer interaction, scalable data management and machine learning to make the process of preparing data faster and more intuitive. Around the globe, tens of thousands of users at more than 10,000 companies, including leading brands like Deutsche Boerse, Google, Kaiser Permanente, New York Life and PepsiCo, are unlocking the potential of their data with Trifacta’s market-leading data preparation solutions. Learn more at trifacta.com.

New York City, NY. The BMW Group continues adding innovative mobility services under the brand BMW i. The company’s venture capital company, BMW i Ventures, is announcing a new investment in Zendrive. Zendrive is a company that uses data and analytics to improve driving. This latest investment will add to the number of BMW investments which currently includes JustPark, Chargepoint, Life360, Chargemaster, and MyCityWay.

“I am delighted that BMW i Ventures is making another strategic investment. This is the first in a series of investment announcements that will be made in the months ahead,” says Ulrich Quay, Managing Director of BMW i Ventures, LLC. “Zendrive offers a great addition to our portfolio and advances the BMW Group vision of convenient, safe and efficient mobility. BMW and Zendrive will explore ways to co-operate on innovative, car-related services in order to make the in-car mobility experience even smoother by optimizing commuting and driving patterns for a safer, more convenient ride.”

Jonathan Matus, CEO of Zendrive: “As a partner and investor, BMW’s guidance is incredibly valuable in our effort to rethink transportation. Their commitment to supporting safe, effective and affordable Mobility Services aligns well with Zendrive’s driver analytics tools that will improve transportation for everyone.”

About Zendrive
Founded in 2013 and based in San Francisco, CA, Zendrive makes driving better, safer, and more efficient for everyone through improved data and analytics. Using mobile tech and big data, it brings Driver-Centric Analytics to the On Demand driving economy. Zendrive’s customers include rideshare companies, valet parking and other service providers. Investors include First Round Capital, BMW i Ventures, and Bill Ford’s Fontinalis Partners, as well as founders of Yahoo, PayPal, and GenRe re-insurance. For more information about Zendrive, visit www.zendrive.com.

About BMW i Ventures
The BMW Group created BMW i Ventures – a Corporate Venture Capital Company based in New York City – to make early and mid-stage investments with high potential in the area of Mobility Services. These are services that make mobility smarter, more efficient and more flexible.

BMW i Ventures aims for strategic, long-term partnerships especially in the areas of e-mobility, navigation, parking, car sharing and intermodal mobility solutions.
BMW i Ventures is part of the brand BMW i, which is about the design and development of visionary vehicles and mobility services and a new perception of premium guided by sustainability.

The BMW Group
With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 29 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2013, the BMW Group sold approximately 1.963 million cars and 115,215 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2013 was € 7.91 billion on revenues amounting to approximately € 76.06 billion. As of 31 December 2013, the BMW Group had a workforce of 110,351 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – In another example of the company’s holistic approach to electromobility, the BMW Group announced that it will begin testing an electric vehicle integration platform developed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The platform is designed to help utilities manage when plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are charged, a process known as demand charging. This would make it possible for utilities to schedule electric vehicle charging for those times during the day when demand for electricity is relatively low, which could save BMW i drivers money while charging. EPRI will work with eight automakers and 15 utility providers across the U.S. to develop an interface that, in addition to scheduling of charging would also, synchronize EV charging with renewable energy when available, and take advantage of real-time changes in the price of electricity in order to lower the cost of charging.

This collaboration led by EPRI will enable utilities, automobile manufacturers and other service providers to test the viability of communication standards already set by organizations including the Society of Automotive Engineers, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Open Automated Demand Response Alliance for use by electric vehicles.

“This collaboration will make it easier for electric vehicle drivers to save money by enabling the utility to schedule charging for times during the day when demand for electricity is relatively low,” said Cliff Fietzek, Manager BMW Connected eMobility Group. “In addition to this collaboration, BMW is developing technology that will allow our customers to easily control when and how their cars charge, and also to seamlessly integrate with home solar power generation and energy management systems,” Fietzek added.

Electric utilities and regional transmission organizations participating in the platform development and demonstration project include DTE Energy Company, Duke Energy, PJM Interconnection LLC, CenterPoint Energy, Inc., Southern Company, Northeast Utilities, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric, Commonwealth Edison, TVA, Manitoba Hydro, Austin Energy, ConEd and CPS Energy.

Also working with BMW is IPKeys Technologies, a strategic partner in the Federal Government, Commercial and Energy sectors with expertise in the development, integration, and deployment of Demand-Response technology and a board member of the OpenADR Alliance.

By joining in the EPRI Open-Grid platform pilot program, BMW builds on a series of recent innovations designed to drive wide-spread market adoption of electric vehicles. The BMW Smart Charging App for mobile devices was announced in June 2014 following the recent launch of the BMW i3 electric vehicle. The BMW Smart Charging App makes it possible for BMW i customers to automatically identify the best rates and times for charging their electric vehicles at home. The BMW Smart Charging App has the potential to save customers as much as $400 annually on their electric bills. BMW is the first automotive manufacturer to offer this automated and fully integrated functionality. The Smart Charging App will be available to all BMW i3 and BMW i8 customers in the U.S. in 2015.

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 339 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 139 BMW motorcycle retailers, 120 MINI passenger car dealers, and 35 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Spartanburg, S.C. BMW Manufacturing led the nation in automotive exports by value for the sixth consecutive year, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. During 2019, the South Carolina plant exported 246,014 BMW X models with a total export value of approximately $9.6 billion. The BMWs produced in Spartanburg, South Carolina, were exported through the Port of Charleston, SC (nearly 195,000 units), and through five other southeastern ports: Savannah, GA; Brunswick, GA; Jacksonville, FL; Miami, FL; and Everglades, FL. More than 18,000 BMWs were also exported via rail.

“Every day, the Plant Spartanburg team produces five top-selling BMW X models, four Motorsport X models and two plug-in hybrid X models sold in more than 125 countries around the world,” said Knudt Flor, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing. “In addition to being the largest U.S. automotive exporter by value, our plant continues to be the largest facility in BMW’s global production network. These achievements are significant and clearly reinforce BMW’s ongoing commitment in the United States.”

In 2019, BMW Manufacturing set a new production record with 411,620 BMW X models produced. Last year was also a significant year for launches at the Spartanburg plant.

(April) Launch of the first-ever BMW X3 M and BMW X4 M
(August) Launch of the third-generation BMW X6
(August) Launch of BMW X5 xDrive45e (second generation plug-in hybrid electric vehicle)
(December) Launch of first-ever BMW X3 xDrive30e (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle)
(December) Launch of the third-generation BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M
First full production year for the first-ever BMW X7.

“When the first BMW rolled off the assembly line at the Spartanburg facility a little more than 25 years ago, South Carolina’s economic landscape began a transformation that would go on to define S.C. as a true brand state,” said Bobby Hitt, South Carolina Secretary of Commerce. “The remarkable partnership between BMW and South Carolina continues to thrive, and this is evident by the fact that our state remains the nation’s leader in the export sales of completed passenger vehicles.”

“For more than 25 years, S.C. Ports Authority has had a strong partnership with BMW Manufacturing,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of S.C. Ports Authority. “Our Inland Port Greer operation brings vehicles from the Upstate to the Lowcountry via rail, and the Port of Charleston enables BMW to export 70% of its South Carolina-made vehicles to more than 125 countries. The automotive manufacturing sector is a vital part of our state’s economy. We are proud to support the shipping needs of the automotive industry, and we look forward to future success and growth for BMW.”
From 2010 – 2019, BMW Group Plant Spartanburg exported 2,285,285 vehicles out of 3,335,871 total vehicles produced. This means nearly 70 percent of the plant’s total production was exported during the decade. Later in 2020, the plant will celebrate a significant production milestone as it produces the five millionth BMW built in South Carolina.

BMW Group Plant Spartanburg produces more than 1,500 vehicles each day and has an annual capacity of up to 450,000 vehicles. The factory represents an investment of over $10.6 billion and employs more than 11,000 people.
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BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC
BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC is a subsidiary of BMW AG in Munich, Germany, and is the global producer of the BMW X3, X3 M, X5, X5 M and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles and X4, X4 M, X6 and X6 M Sports Activity Coupes. In addition to the South Carolina manufacturing facility, BMW Group North American subsidiaries include sales, marketing and financial services operations in the United States, Canada and throughout Latin America; and a design firm and technology office in California. For more information on BMW Manufacturing, visit www.bmwusfactory.com.

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 348 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 145 BMW motorcycle retailers, 121 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Spartanburg, S.C. BMW Manufacturing announced today that it will expand its logistics operations to a new building being developed across Interstate 85 from the plant. The facility, located off Freeman Farm Road, is being constructed by Becknell Industrial. Total investment in the project is approximately $100 million. When completed, the new logistics center will be nearly one million square feet in size with an opportunity for future expansion.

“For nearly three decades, BMW has called South Carolina its second home. This expansion in our logistics operation represents our continued commitment to this state, and it will prepare Plant Spartanburg for the future,” said Dr. Robert Engelhorn, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing. “The new warehouse will allow us to consolidate our logistics processes as well as implement efficiency measures for a more sustainable logistics operation.”

When the new logistics center opens in the middle of 2022, it will allow BMW to consolidate two offsite warehouse operations – one for returnable containers and another for body shop parts – into one efficient onsite location. Inside the warehouse, shipments from suppliers will be sorted, then delivered to their respective Plant Spartanburg technologies. The result is a faster, leaner, more efficient supply chain.

To minimize the impact of truck traffic in the area and allow for easy access to BMW, two private bridges will be constructed to connect the logistics center to the BMW campus: one over Freeman Farm Road and the other over Interstate 85. The bridges are being built by United Infrastructure Group. Construction of the new bridges is currently underway.

Update on New BMW Training Center

Construction continues on the new $20 million, 67,000 square foot training center on the BMW campus, which was announced in February. When completed in the summer of 2022, the building will feature multiple classrooms for both professional development and technical training, an outdoor amphitheater, and a unique concept of outdoor meeting and workspace that includes wireless capabilities. The training center will also be home to BMW’s well-known apprenticeship program – BMW Scholars.

Since 1992, the BMW Group has invested more than $11.4 billion in its South Carolina factory. BMW Manufacturing is the largest BMW Group plant in the world, producing more than 1,500 vehicles each day. The plant exports more than two-thirds of its models to 125 global markets. For seven consecutive years, it has been the largest exporter by value in the United States. The model portfolio includes five top-selling BMW X models, four Motorsport X models, and two plug-in hybrid electric X models. The factory has a production capacity of up to 450,000 vehicles and employs more than 11,000 people.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Corporate Communications

Nathalie Bauters, Head of Communications, BMW Manufacturing

Telephone: 864-794-0842 | Email: Nathalie.Bauters@bmwgroup.com

Steve Wilson, Media Communications Specialist, BMW Manufacturing

Telephone: 864-451-3571 | Email: steve.wilson@bmwmc.com

Website: www.bmwusfactory.com

BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC

BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC is a subsidiary of BMW AG in Munich, Germany, and is the global producer of the BMW X3, X3 M, X5, X5 M and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles and BMW X4, X4 M, X6 and X6 M Sports Activity Coupes. In addition to the South Carolina manufacturing facility, BMW Group North American subsidiaries include sales, marketing, and financial services operations in the United States, Canada and throughout Latin America; a manufacturing plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico; and a design firm and technology office in California. For more information on BMW Manufacturing, visit www.bmwusfactory.com.

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BMW Group in America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 351 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 144 BMW motorcycle retailers, 110 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwgroupusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com.

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Woodcliff Lake, NJ – July 19, 2021…BMW Motorrad USA is proud to announce a strategic long-term partnership with Marshall Amplification to deliver innovation and a premium listening experience for future BMW Motorrad sound system users.

Riding a motorcycle while listening to music – a fitting combination, promising deep emotional experiences and increasing enjoyment on two wheels. It is not surprising that generations of artists have dedicated their songs to the motorcycling experience and lifestyle.

BMW Motorrad has long been engaged in development work on its motorcycle sound systems. With its now agreed long-term partnership with world-renowned British company – Marshall Amplification – the innovation and quality of BMW Motorrad sound systems are set to reach new heights.

For 60 years, Marshall, original from Hanwell, London, now based in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (UK), have produced legendary guitar amplifiers used by the world’s best musicians. Since 2012 they have expanded their audio quality into award winning headphones and active speakers designed for music lovers.

The legendary Marshall spirit and the development power of BMW Motorrad will in future be reflected in new innovative products for motorcycles and music, especially in the BMW Motorrad Heritage segment. BMW Motorrad will present the first new products resulting from this strategic partnership very soon.

Stay tuned to find out more on July 29, 2021.

Group in America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 349 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 116 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

www.bmwgroup.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMWGroup

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupview

Google+: http://googleplus.bmwgroup.com

Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com, www.miniusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com.

Mountain View, Calif- Nov. 8, 2021 … As the first automaker to collaborate with dairy farms on renewable energy projects, BMW of North America and California Bioenergy (CalBio) today announced an expanded partnership to include Bar 20 Dairy, a farm based in Kerman, CA. The collaboration aims to power EVs in California with clean energy, and generate cleaner air in the state by leveraging the latest biodigester technology to create renewable energy by capturing methane from manure to feed back into the power grid.

The new, next generation climate-smart dairy technology captures methane from manure and turns it into renewable energy without combustion, offsetting 100% of carbon emissions and sending renewable energy back to the electric grid to power EVs in a clean way. It will also result in critical methane reductions to help the state meet its short and long-term climate goals. The methane emission reductions at the farm, when combined with the renewable energy generation, result in carbon emission reductions equivalent to providing clean power to over 17,000 electric vehicles per year. The project will also provide significant local air quality benefits in Northern and Central California, while furthering the state’s ambitious clean transportation goals.

“At BMW, we continue to pursue new ways to bring sustainability to all aspects of our vehicles – including the electricity powering our EVs,” said Adam Langton, energy services manager, connected eMobility, BMW of North America. “Our partnership with CalBIO represents an innovative way to help drive renewable energy investment, which not only powers our vehicles with clean energy, but also reduces methane emissions at dairy farms and brings a new revenue source to agricultural communities. We hope to expand this forward thinking model in the future, bringing more biodigester investment to farms throughout the U.S. and continuing to provide clean energy to EV drivers.”

What makes the digester at Bar 20 Dairy farm unique is how the fuel cell technology creates ultra-clean renewable electricity on site. The system is efficient, producing twice as much electricity as conventional generators using the same amount of biogas. By capturing methane that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and efficiently making clean, renewable electricity, the project is one of the cleanest sources of energy in the state. The use of electric fuel reduces carbon emissions, as well as smog producing emissions and other pollutants that impact air quality.

“In bringing together the best technology from Silicon Valley with the best technology from the Central Valley, we’re really doing something special for California,” said N. Ross Buckenham, CEO of CalBio. “This ultra-clean, biogas-fueled, on-dairy, self-generation power system scales from small to large dairies. We’re excited to now be able to demonstrate a large-scale system capable of generating one megawatt base load 24 x 7 that provides grid resiliency, and greatly improves local air quality while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

In addition to the varied environmental benefits, the partnership also brings new revenue to family farms and agricultural communities through this production of clean transportation fuel. Under the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program, BMW generates environmental credits with dairy farms for these partnerships, both sharing the value of these credits. This type of innovative, cross-sector alignment not only helps farm communities with new revenue, but also serves as a model to accelerate the adoption of biodigesters at more farms in California and beyond.

Commitment to Sustainability.

BMW Group is dedicated to social and environmental responsibility and is leading the charge for increased efficiency and state-of-the-art sustainability solutions. The company takes a holistic approach to sustainability that extends beyond the vehicle, from design and engineering, to supply chain and procurement, manufacturing, and charging. Through its partnership with CalBio and other dairy farms, BMW is reshaping how EVs are charged by off-setting all BMW EV charging carbon emissions with this innovative approach.

Two All-New Fully-Electric BMW Vehicles Arrive Early Next Year.

BMW’s efforts to provide clean energy for electric vehicle charging in CA, comes in advance of the launch of the all new, fully-electric BMW iX Sports Activity Vehicle and the BMW i4 Gran Coupe, which will arrive in the U.S. early next year. Each of these vehicles are built on BMW’s 5th generation edrive technology and represent the latest in BMW technology, innovation, connectivity and performance.

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BMW Group In America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 351 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers,144 BMW motorcycle retailers, 110 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists online at www.BMWUSANews.com, www.MINIUSANews.com and www.press.BMWNA.com.

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – March 13, 2024… BMW of North America announced today the addition of Shell Recharge Solutions as a second eMobility provider, giving customers easy access to Shell Recharge, ChargePoint, EVgo, EVConnect, and Blink charging stations via the My BMW App. BMW drivers can now find, access, and charge at all affiliated locations via their My BMW app, with payments for all five providers automatically processed via the app. With this new agreement, BMW Charging now offers electric vehicle drivers easy and convenient access to one of the largest charging networks in North America with over 100,000 public charging points in the U.S. and Canada.

Shell Recharge Solutions’ virtual Mobility Service Provider (vMSP) not only streamlines the charging experience for BMW customers, but also eliminates the need to create separate accounts, and use separate apps, for each individual charging provider. Through the My BMW app, customers can now enjoy the benefits of both complimentary charging with Electrify America, and the networks of multiple providers across North America with Shell Recharge Solutions.

“Charging is an important part of creating a positive customer experience for the owners of electric vehicles,” said Shaun Bugbee, Executive Vice President, Operations, BMW of North America. “As a premium automaker, BMW’s goal is to also create a premium ownership experience for our customers, which means making the charging process as simple and convenient as possible.”

Shell Recharge is a pay-as-you-go program, so signing up is easy; customers simply need to add a credit card to their account.  Charging at all locations is easy as well; park in front of the charging station, open the My BMW app, click ‘Charge Here’, and all relevant information for the specific charging station will be displayed, including ratings, reviews, and photos provided by Plug Share.

BMW’s current electric vehicle lineup includes the BMW i4 Gran Coupe, BMW i5 Sedan, and BMW i7 Sedan, as well as the BMW iX Sports Activity Vehicle.  The company also offers five plug-in hybrid electric models including the BMW 330e Sedan, BMW 550e Sedan, BMW 750e Sedan, BMW X5 xDrive50e Sports Activity Vehicle and the BMW XM.

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BMW Group in America       

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.  Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003.  The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country.  BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and assembles the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles as well as the BMW XM. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 349 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers,145 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

ATLANTA, June 13, 2016 – As the auto industry prepares for the increase in off-lease vehicle inventory, BMW Financial Services (BMWFS) is making it easy for all dealers to source high-quality BMW and MINI vehicles before they cross the auction block. Powered by RMS Automotive’s web-based vehicle portfolio management solution, BMWGroupDirect.com is now accessible to independent and non-BMW franchise dealers. Previously open to BMW franchise dealers only, the site now gives any buyer with a valid AuctionACCESS account 24/7 online access to BMW Group’s national inventory of off-lease vehicles.

“BMWGroupDirect.com was created out of the necessity for our franchise partners to gain exclusive access to our inventory before it was offered to the wholesale buying community,” said Nina Englert, vice president of sales and marketing for BMW Financial Services. “But, given the changing dynamics facing the grounding dealer and with more off-lease inventory entering the market, we needed to take our upstream remarketing program to the next level.”

With its national reach and new inventory postings each day, BMWGroupDirect allows any registered dealer to find and purchase vehicles anytime, anywhere. It’s the only remarketing site with factory VIN decoding, meaning dealers can search packages and options based on original build information from the plant. With its responsive design and easy-to-use search functions, dealers can also set up saved searches and alerts to advise them when specific inventory becomes available. Additionally, the open platform means dealers no longer have to reserve time to attend simulcast online auctions at set times or attend on-site live auctions, saving them both time and money.

“Dealers can see our off-lease inventory across multiple auction locations, making it an efficient way to source our vehicles,” added Englert. “And as the shift from traditional auction to online sales channels continues to grow, this will become an increasingly important value-add to dealers.”

More than 450 BMW and MINI franchise dealers as well as 50 VIP independent dealers and wholesale buyers have sourced, bid on and purchased vehicles through the site since it launched in June 2015. The program will continue to offer only franchise dealers exclusive access to BMW Group company vehicles via closed sales.

“BMW Group Financial Services and Cox Automotive enjoy a strong partnership and are committed to finding innovative solutions that drive more informed decision-making and further growth,” said Nick Peluso, RMS president. “With anticipated growth over the next several years in off-lease volumes, this solution will help BMW Group Financial Services generate greater business efficiencies that will fuel better remarketing decisions.”

About BMW Group Financial Services
BMW Group Financial Services was established in the U.S. in 1992 to support the sales and marketing of BMW products. Since then, the Group has expanded to provide service to markets in multiple countries and continues to evolve beyond its role as a captive finance unit. BMW Group Financial Services offers a wide range of leasing, retail and commercial financing and banking products tailored to meet the needs of the BMW customer. The Group also provides financing to BMW dealers for expanding dealership capabilities and enhancing overall operations. With more than $47 billion in serviced assets and 1,300,000 automotive lending customers across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, BMW Group Financial Services finances almost three-quarters of the BMWs sold or leased in North America. BMW Group Financial Services employs more than 800 people, including consultants and temporary workers, most of whom are located in the Hilliard, Ohio, Regional Service Center, which serves the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

In 2001, the MINI Financial Services division was established to provide support for the brand’s dealers and its customers by offering financing and leasing options and branded financial services products. Alphera Financial Services was established in 2006 to provide financial services to multi-brand dealers.

BMW Group Financial Services also offers credit card products through its subsidiary, the BMW Bank of North America. up2drive.com is a division of BMW Bank of North America, a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW Financial Services NA, LLC. BMW Insurance Agency, Inc., a property and casualty producer is also part of BMW Group Financial Services. Information about BMW

Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at:
www.bmwgroupna.com
www.bmwusa.com
www.bmwmotorradusa.com
www.miniusa.com
www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

About RMS Automotive
RMS Automotive was first established in the U.K. and is being marketed to clients such as BMW who want more enhanced visibility into their vehicle portfolio for faster decision-making. The company creates digital platforms that enable users to proactively manage vehicle assets and investments through real-time visibility, predictive models and powerful analytics, combined with third-party data integration. For more information about RMS Automotive, visit www.rmsautomotive.com.

About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive, Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, software, financial, wholesale and e-commerce solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Manheim®, Autotrader®, Kelley Blue Book®, Dealertrack®, vAuto®, Xtime®, NextGear Capital® and a host of other brands. The global company has nearly 30,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues of more than $17 billion and approximately 55,000 employees. Cox Enterprises’ other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com.

Munich. In future, drivers will be able to choose whether they wish to be driven or do the driving themselves. With the BMW Vision M NEXT, the BMW Group is revealing its take on how driving pleasure might look in future for those who enjoy taking the wheel themselves. It offers a foretaste of the BMW M brand’s electrified future by placing the focus squarely on the actively engaged driver. Intelligent technologies on board provide comprehensive yet carefully targeted assistance to turn them into the ultimate driver.
Hosting the exclusive world premiere of the BMW Vision M NEXT is the new #NEXTGen infotainment platform at BMW Welt. This standalone event concentrating on personal mobility solutions “made by the BMW Group” adds another regular fixture to the calendar of car shows / technology & future-focused trade events around the world which the company already attends. The Group’s latest technological advances in the fields of design, autonomous driving, connectivity, electrification and services will be showcased here, alongside spectacular world premieres such as that of the BMW Vision M NEXT.

“The BMW Vision M NEXT provides a glimpse into the future of sporty driving,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. “Where the BMW Vision iNEXT illustrated how autonomous driving is set to transform life on board our vehicles, the BMW Vision M NEXT demonstrates how state-of-the-art technology can also make the experience of driving yourself purer and more emotionally engaging. In both models, the focus is firmly on the people inside. Design and technology make the ‘EASE’ and ‘BOOST’ experiences more natural and more intense.”

The EASE and BOOST experience concepts.
The BMW Vision iNEXT and BMW Vision M NEXT Vision Vehicles represent prototype versions of BMW’s future experience concepts “EASE” and “BOOST”. EASE encompasses all the experiences during a journey when the vehicle assumes the task of driving. Here, the vehicle is transformed into a living space on four wheels, where the passengers can feel safe and secure. From rest and relaxation, via talking, interacting and enjoying in-car entertainment, all the way to maximum concentration – the experiences on offer with the EASE concept are as varied as the occupants’ needs. BOOST, meanwhile, stands for the ultimate active driving experience. The EASE and BOOST concepts are underpinned in equal measure by the building blocks for the BMW Group’s future, comprising the innovation areas of Autonomous driving, Connectivity, Electrification and Services (ACES). The Design lends these areas visual expression and makes the underlying technology something you can engage with (D+ACES).

Exterior exudes BMW sports-car DNA.
“The BMW Vision M NEXT is a progressive hybrid sports car that makes a very clear and confident statement, in terms of both appearance and interaction,” says Domagoj Dukec, Vice President BMW Design. The emotion-stirring exterior design clearly announces the BMW Vision Vehicle’s performance potential, borrowing styling cues from both classic and contemporary BMW sports cars in the process. The BMW Vision M NEXT draws its inspiration from the iconic BMW Turbo and groundbreaking BMW i8 plug-in hybrid and adopts a future-focused interpretation of design elements such as the low-slung, wedge-shaped silhouette, gullwing doors and striking colour scheme. The unmistakable sports-car proportions are composed of surfaces characterised by clarity and pared-down styling. The front and rear ends are finished in the matt-neon shade Thrilling Orange, producing a vivid contrast against the exterior’s otherwise silk-matt Cast Silver metallic paintwork. This use of colour blocking gives the Vision Vehicle an added air of modernity and emphasises its inherent dynamism.
The actual driving experience in the BMW Vision M NEXT is every bit as captivating as its exterior looks. The Power PHEV drive system in offers the choice between electric all-wheel drive and pure rear-wheel drive, with either all-electric propulsion or the power of a turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine. System output of 441 kW (600 hp) produces a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) and enables the BMW Vision M NEXT to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just three seconds. There is also a BOOST+ mode that puts extra power on tap at the push of a button. The maximum range when driving in all-electric mode is 100 km (62 miles) – more than enough to complete the majority of journeys purely on electric power. This means the BMW Vision M NEXT is a sports car that would also be suitable for use in city centres where zero-emissions zones may come into force in the future.

Incorporating a modern take on classic design icons: the front end.
The expressive front-end design serves up a confident and modern interpretation of classic BMW icons. The signature BMW kidney grille is flanked on either side by triangular elements in Thrilling Orange, which serve to accentuate the air intakes at the sides and the integral headlights. These elements combine with the blade-shaped air intake below the kidney grille to create a cutting-edge racing aesthetic.
The soft outer curves of the kidney grille openings are reminiscent of a turbine’s air intake and give the front end added dynamic impact, while the colour gradient used for the inside of the two kidney elements creates a sense of depth. The grille openings are each blanked off by a transparent layer with a laser-etched, illuminated pattern that seems to be floating inside – a highly sophisticated touch that gives added emphasis to this section of the car.
The BMW Vision M NEXT headlights are positioned on the outer edges of the front end, higher up than the kidney grille. Arranged one above the other rather than side by side, their constituent elements represent a highly distinctive interpretation of BMW’s classic four-eyed front end. The headlights hand a debut to Laser Wire lighting technology, whereby glass fibres coated with phosphorous are used to produce headlight elements with a new, super-slim and extremely precise form. All of which further underscores the Vision Vehicle’s future-focused character.

Trailblazing dynamism: the flanks.
The low-slung, wedge-shaped sports-car silhouette of the BMW Vision M NEXT, the reward climb of its flank lines and the diagonal splash of contrasting orange colour endow it with dramatic forward-surging intent, even when standing still. The black side skirts made from recycled carbon fibre make the car look even lower on the road. The sports-car silhouette frames a small number of crisp lines running along the clearly sculpted surfaces. The lines of the powerfully contoured shoulders are also used to create the effect of the iconic Hofmeister kink, instead of incorporating it into the window graphic in the usual BMW fashion. The design is broken up by a gill-like aperture that narrows as it sweeps back from the window surface towards the tail, giving the car a more elongated appearance. A second look reveals another highlight in the form of the Air Flow. This opening located just in front of the rear wheels is designed to carefully channel the onrushing air towards the rear end in a way that further improves aerodynamics.
Precisely engineered gaps in the wheels’ intricate, three-dimensional multi-spoke design result in low weight, maximum rigidity and reduced drag and so optimise the transfer of power to the road. The spokes’ open, three-dimensional architecture maximises cooling of the large brake discs at the front, while inserts optimise aero efficiency at the rear. The rear wheels on the BMW Vision M NEXT measure 22 inches in diameter, making them one inch larger than the front wheels (21 inches) and further emphasising the car’s wedge-shaped appearance.

Low-slung, broad and extremely dynamic: the rear end.
The broad, low-slung rear end makes a stylistic statement with its distinctly sporty tone. Its colour scheme divides the car’s sculptural tail into two sections. The top section in Thrilling Orange creates a visual link between the coloured areas of the flanks, further adding to the impression of width. The area below it is made from recycled carbon fibre and incorporates an aerodynamically optimised diffuser. The design of the rear window takes its cue from the BMW M1. The three-piece louvres are made from glass and emphasise the horizontal focus of the rear-end styling.
The rear lights feature the same Laser Wire technology used for the headlights. Their glass lenses frame the rear end in a sweeping flourish on either side, bringing its width and sporting presence to the fore. Inside each light unit, a single wafer-thin glass fibre produces an abstract ECG trace of a heartbeat fashioned with pin-sharp precision. The two-dimensional reinterpretation of the distinctive pair of BMW roundels from the BMW Turbo and BMW M1 – a gift to BMW aficionados – gives them the impression of floating in the rear lights’ transparent lenses.

Focusing on the driver: the interior.
Facial recognition technology allows the car to unlock automatically as the driver approaches. Pressing the touch sensor on the gullwing doors prompts them to swing open, revealing a cabin that merges the driver and vehicle into one. The classy, minimalist interior revolves entirely around the actively engaged driver, both stylistically and technologically. The interior appears as if cut from a single mould, with functional elements such as the air vents integrated almost out of sight. Its geometry is deliberately restrained in nature so the driver can devote their attention entirely to the driving experience. The seat shells form part of a seat sculpture with a flowing design. They are upholstered in a foam material with shape memory properties that moulds itself to, cushions and supports the body to optimum effect. The head restraints seem to hover above both seat shells, increasing the sense of lightness. The extremely comfortable seating position immerses the driver in the driving experience.

Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel: the BOOST Pod.
“The entire interior is focused on the BOOST Pod. The geometry has a deliberately low-key feel so that the driver can concentrate fully on the driving experience,” explains Domagoj Dukec. Taking pride of place in the interior, the BOOST Pod forms the interface between driver and vehicle. It brings together all the control options and information across three distinct visual tiers in the driver’s direct field of view. The first plane is formed by the horizontally arranged steering wheel featuring two small displays. Following this in the driver’s line of sight is a Curved Glass Display, a new addition whose transparent surface stretches around the steering wheel like a visor. The full-surface Augmented Reality Head-Up Display in the windscreen constitutes the third plane. Everything therefore happens directly in the driver’s line of sight. The driving settings can be modified on the steering wheel, while information such as revs, road speed, energy management, the driver’s heart rate and availability of BOOST+ mode is spread among a total of five clusters in the Curved Glass Display behind. BOOST+ mode can be engaged at the touch of a button to release extra power. The car alerts the driver when the ideal moment arrives to activate BOOST+.

Taking driver focus to the next level: focus logic.
“In the BMW Vision M NEXT, intelligent technologies help the driver and deliver the right content at the right time. Operation is clear and intuitive, with all information presented in the driver’s direct field of view. This is a deliberate counterpoint to the BMW Vision iNEXT, which focused on multimodal operation from every seat,” continues Dukec.
The BMW Vision M NEXT therefore shows the way ahead for BMW’s fabled driver focus. The cabin’s geometry and technology have both been devised to help focus attention on the task of driving and prevent distractions. To this end, the information displayed is adapted to the current speed – based on the principles of focus logic. As the vehicle speeds up, the information centres increasingly on driving-related data and moves into the driver’s eye-line. It is possible to communicate with the Intelligent Personal Assistant at all times while driving – if drivers wish to book the visionary Valet Parking Service for their destination, for instance. Here, a concierge is on hand when they arrive to take the vehicle, park it and bring it back again at the desired time. All done simply and seamlessly using the MyBMW App.

Innovative materials for a luxurious ambience and optimum performance.
“We have designed a modern and luxurious interior with the help of innovative materials. Whereas its geometry is clear and restrained, individual details are showcased like top-class accessories,” says Dukec. The pioneering mix of materials employed in the BMW Vision M NEXT, including woven synthetic fibres, anodised titanium and painted surfaces, has never been seen before in a vehicle in this form, which is why it brings out the car’s character to such stunning effect. Use of leather has been kept deliberately to a minimum, which is why it only adorns the design details that the driver’s and passenger’s hands touch directly, such as the steering wheel and door pull handles. Instead, the interior is dominated by a Midnight Blue microfibre fabric whose look and feel are akin to leather, but is also highly distinctive. Judicious use of Thrilling Orange contrasts injects additional sporting flair.
A particularly striking touch here is the accent line in the driver’s area that runs forwards from the seat over the BOOST Pod, indicating the ideal line of sight over the road. A light element in the BOOST Pod further strengthens this line.

The metallic surfaces in Titanium Bronze have a warm, shimmering tone, adding to the exclusive ambience in the car’s interior. Neat design touches such as the barely visible pockets in the door and centre console allow everyday essentials to remain securely stowed away even when cornering at high speed. The gyroscopic cupholder is able to compensate for strong lateral and longitudinal dynamic forces. A glance upwards reveals both the visible roof structure made from recycled carbon fibre and the headliner, whose tone-in-tone paint finish with mild sheen effect blends in perfectly with the rest of the interior’s colour scheme.

The past and future of dynamic driving.
With its enthralling blend of design and driving experience, the BMW Vision M NEXT fuses BMW’s sporting heritage with the possibilities of tomorrow’s world, and illustrates how the D+ACES building blocks for the future will be able to enhance how the driver experiences a car’s dynamics.

TORRANCE, Calif., – BMW Group, Ford Motor Company and American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today announced that they have entered into an agreement to create ChargeScape, LLC, a new equally-owned company that will create a single, cost-effective platform connecting electric utilities, automakers and interested electric vehicle customers. Benefiting both EV customers and the electric utility industry in the U.S. and Canada, ChargeScape will unlock entirely new value that EVs can provide to the electric grid, while enabling EV customers to earn financial benefits through a variety of managed charging and energy-sharing services never before possible with traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. The closing of the transaction and subsequent formation of ChargeScape is pending regulatory approvals, with the company expected to be operational early next year.

Building on years of OVGIP cross-industry collaboration, ChargeScape’s single platform will eliminate the need for individual integrations between each automotive brand and each electric utility. ChargeScape’s platform will give electric utilities access to EV battery energy across a wide pool of EVs. Participating EV customers will have the potential to earn financial benefits by charging at “grid-friendly” times through flexible and managed schedules. Electric vehicle customers will also eventually have the opportunity for even more significant impact by sharing the energy stored in their EV batteries with the grid during times of peak demand through vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications.

ChargeScape will enable the smart use of plugged-in EV batteries by securely providing energy data to electric utilities and system operators like aggregated demand response, alignment of charging and EV battery utilization with off-peak, low-cost hours and the availability of high renewable energy. Due to the efficient integration with participating automakers and the anticipation of high levels of EV customer enrollment, these energy services are expected to be a cost-efficient, operational benefit for electric utilities.

Transformational Opportunity for EV Customers and Electric Utilities

The development of this project comes at a time when electric vehicle sales and infrastructure growth are ramping up quickly, bringing new opportunities to address challenges for the electric grid. More EVs on the road means increased electricity demand on utilities to charge them. ChargeScape aims to provide energy management services to help support grid resiliency while looking ahead to the future of V2G capabilities that will benefit both EV customers and electric utilities.

Additionally, ChargeScape will play a role in helping to decarbonize the grid. The company’s efforts will reduce EV customers’ personal carbon footprints by utilizing electricity that comes from more readily available renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar. While seamless integration between EV customers and utilities will be key to energy management success, participating EV customers will always remain in control of their charging and energy decisions.

“Electric grid reliability and sustainability are the foundation for an EV powered future,” said Thomas Ruemenapp, Vice President, Engineering, BMW of North America, LLC. “ChargeScape aims to accelerate the expansion of smart charging and vehicle-to-everything solutions all over the country, while increasing customer benefits, supporting the stability of the grid and helping to maximize renewable energy usage. We’re proud to be a founding member of ChargeScape and are looking forward to the opportunities this collaboration will create.”

“Electric vehicles are unlocking entirely new benefits for customers that can save them money while supporting grid resiliency and increase the use of clean, renewable energy,” said Bill Crider, global head of charging and energy services, Ford Motor Company. “ChargeScape will help accelerate the true potential of the EV revolution by providing significant benefits to both utilities and EV customers through smart vehicle-to-grid services.”

“As Honda seeks to achieve our global goal of carbon neutrality, we are counting on this platform to create new value for our customers by connecting EVs to electric utilities, strengthening grid resources and reducing CO₂ emissions,” said Jay Joseph, vice president of Sustainability & Business Development, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “With automakers accelerating toward the electrified future, we must find solutions like ChargeScape that enable all stakeholders to work together for the good of our customers, society and our industry by enabling greater use of renewable energy for and from mobility.”

Benefits of Working Together

ChargeScape, along with the work done to date through OVGIP, will bring managed charging benefits to more EV customers and can eliminate marketing and outreach costs for utilities trying to reach their individual customer bases. BMW Group, Ford Motor Company and American Honda have direct, multi-channel communication with their EV customers, solving a central problem for utilities that typically do not know or have an easy and cost-effective way to identify the EV customers in their service territory.

Additionally, by leveraging automaker telematics, ChargeScape intends to provide managed charge scheduling through vehicle connectivity without requiring Wi-Fi-enabled charging stations. This will support the many EV customers who do not use “smart” chargers at home, as their EVs would otherwise be unreachable for grid services.

The three founding members welcome other automakers to join in and fully unlock opportunities provided by ChargeScape’s grid service offerings once the company is fully operational.

# # #

BMW Group In America

BMW (US) Holding, Corp. is the shareholder of BMW of North America, LLC, which has been present in the United States since 1975.  Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003.  The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; DesignWorks/USA.Inc, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country.  BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles as well as the BMW XM. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 349 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers,147 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan, committed to helping build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.  The company’s Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines existing strengths, new capabilities and always-on relationships with customers to enrich experiences for customers and deepen their loyalty.  Ford develops and delivers innovative, must-have Ford trucks, sport utility vehicles, commercial vans and cars and Lincoln luxury vehicles, along with connected services.  The company does that through three customer-centered business segments:  Ford Blue, engineering iconic gas-powered and hybrid vehicles; Ford Model e, inventing breakthrough EVs along with embedded software that defines always-on digital experiences for all customers; and Ford Pro, helping commercial customers transform and expand their businesses with vehicles and services tailored to their needs.  Additionally, Ford is pursuing mobility solutions through Ford Next, and provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company.  Ford employs about 173,000 people worldwide.  More information about the company and its products and services is available at corporate.ford.com.

About Honda’s Commitment to the Environment

Honda is working toward its global goal of zero environmental impact by 2050 through its “Triple Action to Zero” approach, including achieving carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities, 100% utilization of renewable energy, and resource circulation, utilizing 100% sustainable materials by reprocessing products back to raw materials and reusing those materials in the creation of new products. Toward this goal, Honda will strive to make battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles represent 100% of auto sales in the U.S. and globally by 2040.

To reduce the environmental impact of its business operations, Honda also is offsetting CO₂ emissions from its North American manufacturing operations through long-term virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) for renewable wind and solar power that seek to cover more than 60% of the electricity Honda uses in North America. Honda also promotes environmentally responsible business practices with its suppliers and retail dealer partners across North America. Learn more at https://csr.honda.com/environment/na-environmental-report/.

Herndon, VA; Woodcliff Lake, NJ; Campbell, CA, – Electric vehicle (EV) drivers can now travel the most heavily-trafficked corridors on the East and West Coasts of the United States with the installation of 95 new DC Fast charging stations as part of the Express Charging Corridors Initiative – a collaboration of two of the world’s top automakers, BMW of North America and Volkswagen of America, Inc. and ChargePoint, the world’s largest EV charging network. The recently completed express charging corridors are designed to meet the increasing demand for convenient, publicly-available EV fast chargers and act as a catalyst for the growing adoption of electric vehicles in the United States.

Drivers can access the DC Fast chargers along the most heavily populated and highly-trafficked regions primarily along Interstate 95 on the East Coast, enabling EV travel from Boston, through the New York City and Philadelphia areas to Washington, D.C., and along Interstate 5 and Highway 101 on the West Coast, connecting metropolitan areas from Portland, Ore., through the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles to San Diego. Branches from the main Corridors extend to popular destinations such as Cape Cod, the Hamptons, the Jersey Shore, Lake Tahoe, Napa, and Sonoma. The chargers are strategically positioned both within and between relevant metropolitan areas, spaced approximately 50 miles apart, in convenient locations with access to restaurants, shopping centers, rest stops, and more. These DC Fast charging stations, connecting cities along the corridors, have been installed within a few miles of major highways, prioritizing both safety and convenience.

The corridors are designed to make longer distance EV travel easier, with faster charging time than standard Level 2 public charging. Drivers can locate stations through the ChargePoint mobile app or website; in BMW i3 vehicles via BMW ConnectedDrive, either in-vehicle or via the app; or in Volkswagen e-Golf vehicles by accessing the Volkswagen CarNet® app via smartphone or smartwatch or in-vehicle.

“BMW’s vision for an innovative, more convenient future of electric mobility encompasses the continued rollout of a robust public infrastructure throughout the U.S. to benefit our customers and all EV drivers,” noted Robert Healey, Head of EV Infrastructure for BMW of North America. “The partnership with VW and ChargePoint demonstrates the efficiencies of industry cooperation for building robust public DC Fast charging while encouraging consumer interest in electric vehicles such as the BMW i3.”

“Volkswagen’s investment in this expansive public EV charging project sets the blueprint for future EV charging infrastructure in the United States,” said Dr. Hendrik Muth, Senior Vice President, Product Marketing and Strategy, Volkswagen of America. “These charging corridors will add greater flexibility and convenience for current e-Golf and other EV drivers, and reduces one more barrier to increased EV ownership.”

Each charging location along the Express Charging Corridors offers either 50kW or 24kW DC Fast charging with the SAE Combo connectors used in the BMW i3 and Volkswagen e-Golf electric vehicles (and in many other EVs with DC Fast charging capability). Many locations also offer CHAdeMO connectors, for vehicles equipped with these ports. All stations are publicly available and can be easily accessed with the ChargePoint mobile app or a ChargePoint card, or for BMW drivers, a ChargeNow card.

“At ChargePoint, we make driving electric an easy choice for anyone,” said Pasquale Romano, CEO of ChargePoint. “The Express Charging Corridors extend the power of the existing ChargePoint network to simplify long-distance travel for EV drivers and enable more people to make an EV their primary vehicle.”

With the completion of the Express Charging Corridors, BMW, Volkswagen and ChargePoint are providing drivers with the ability and confidence to enjoy longer distance driving and recharge their electric vehicles quickly, ultimately leading to greater electric vehicle adoption.

# # #

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 and X4 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 341 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 153 BMW motorcycle retailers, 126 MINI passenger car dealers, and 36 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

About Volkswagen of America, Inc.
Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc., an operating unit of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VWoA) is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. VWoA’s operations in the United States include research and development, parts and vehicle processing, parts distribution centers, sales, marketing and service offices, financial service centers, and its state -of-the- art manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Volkswagen Group is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. VWoA sells the Beetle, Beetle Convertible, CC, Eos, e-Golf, Golf, Golf GTI, Golf R, Golf SportWagen, Jetta, Passat, Tiguan and Touareg vehicles through approximately 652 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen of America online at www.vw.com or media.vw.com to learn more.

About ChargePoint
ChargePoint is the largest and most open electric vehicle (EV) charging network in the world, with more than 30,000 independently owned charging spots that are easy for EV drivers to find and use at home, at work, around town and out of town. Leading EV hardware makers and other partners rely on the ChargePoint network to make charging station details available in mobile apps, online and in navigation systems for popular EVs. ChargePoint drivers have completed more than 18 million charging sessions, saving upwards of 17.3 million gallons of gasoline and driving over 430 million gas-free miles.

DETROIT – Cadillac and ZF Lenksysteme GmbH, a leading supplier of automotive steering systems, have teamed to create world-class dynamic handling and steering for all models of the 2015 ATS.

Starting with the excellent mechanical steering system, the electronic power assist steering gives a wider range of assist, resulting in an incredibly communicative, well-weighted and responsive steering experience, said Kevin Woodward, global key account at ZF Lenksysteme.

For 2015 ATS models, including the all-new ATS Coupe, the feel of the electronic power-assisted steering has been improved through revised programming within the electronic control unit. New programming broadens the range of steering assist at low and high vehicle speeds, based on wheel speed, steering angle and even the car’s chassis mode.

“It means that you don’t have to sacrifice parking lot feel for spirited driving feel,” Woodward said. “The new software change illustrates our ability to balance the goal of spirited performance, nimble and quick-responding steering with the premium luxury feel expected by Cadillac owners.”

The electric, variable-assist power steering system from ZF Lenksysteme is designed to deliver excellent response and on-center characteristics while saving fuel since engine power isn’t directly required to assist gear movement – as is the case with conventional hydraulic systems.

“Premium electric power steering by ZF Lenksysteme steering gear has great torsional stiffness and low operating friction to enhance the steering feel with almost perfect linear response,” Woodward said. Additionally, the steering column and intermediate shaft feature stiff, direct-acting and low-friction ball bearing designs for a more immediate, connected-to-the-road feel for the driver.

Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. Today Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio featuring dramatic design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com. Cadillac’s media website with information, images and video can be found at media.cadillac.com.

DETROIT – Cadillac announced today the appointment of Publicis Worldwide as its global creative agency of record. Publicis Worldwide is the largest creative agency of the Publicis Groupe network and its appointment to Cadillac is effective immediately.

A fully dedicated team, comprising key managers from Publicis Worldwide, will lead the account and have access to specialist and premium resources within the larger Publicis Groupe.

“This appointment is designed to accelerate the global expansion and elevation of Cadillac into a truly global luxury brand,” said Cadillac Chief Marketing Officer Uwe Ellinghaus. “We have spent much of this year refocusing on the core values of our brand. Adding Publicis Worldwide to our team —with its undisputed expertise in luxury brand building — will further our progress globally.”

Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Worldwide added: “For us, this appointment is an honor and a privilege. We will work passionately with the client leadership team to strengthen the power of the Cadillac brand.”

Cadillac’s creative and strategic agency of record since 2013 had been Lowe and Partners, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies.

“We sincerely appreciate the dedication and service the Lowe team has brought to our brand,” Ellinghaus said. “The agency has aided Cadillac in a time of transition and contributed significantly to the development of its brand positioning.”

Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. Today Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio featuring distinctive design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com. Cadillac’s media website with information, images and video can be found at media.cadillac.com.

NEW YORK – Cadillac tonight held the world premiere of the 2016 CT6, elevating it to the top of its range and creating a new formula for the prestige sedan through the integration of new technologies developed to achieve dynamic performance, efficiency and agility previously unseen in large luxury cars.

CT6 marks Cadillac’s long-awaited return to the global prestige luxury segment, and is one of eight all-new vehicles the brand will launch by the end of the decade as part of its $12-billion product investment to expand and elevate.

“The CT6 is nothing less than an entirely new approach to premium luxury – and an approach only Cadillac can offer,” said Johan de Nysschen, president of Cadillac. “It is a bold endeavor with unmatched dynamism that reignites a passion for driving in large luxury vehicles. In short, it is prestige luxury reimagined.”

Cadillac CT6 takes drivers to a higher threshold of involvement, with technologies that make them more aware of their surroundings, chassis systems – including active technologies – that make the most of control in all conditions, and powertrains led by an all-new Cadillac Twin Turbo engine that rewards with stirring power on demand. Passengers are ensconced in the brand’s ultimate expression of comfort, luxury and connectivity.

The CT6 features one of the industry’s most advanced automotive body structures, an aluminum-intensive architecture that incorporates 11 different materials to achieve strength, performance and efficiency thresholds practically unmatched among the world’s elite luxury performance sedans.

It is one of the world’s lightest and most agile full-size luxury performance sedans, with dimensions and spaciousness on par with BMW’s short-wheelbase 7-Series, but the approximate weight, agility and efficiency of the smaller Cadillac CTS – which is lighter than a BMW 5-Series. The CT6 is lighter than the BMW 5-Series, 6-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

“We reinvented the approach to structural underpinnings in the quest to develop a unique formula for the prestige luxury performance sedan,” said de Nysschen. “Melding that new approach with the dynamics conveyed in our other award-winning rear-driven sedans – including V-Series – results in something that has been lost in the segment: the exhilaration of a true driver’s car.”

Cadillac focused on three pillars that would coalesce to deliver the CT6’s dynamic experience – and do so with higher levels of presence, elegance and technological innovation to help elevate Cadillac around the world.

“Luxury brands are built from the top down,” said Cadillac Chief Marketing Officer Uwe Ellinghaus. “Adding a dynamic, top-of-the-range car is central to Cadillac’s elevation and global growth.”

Agility

All-new Omega architecture features 13 high-pressure aluminum castings in the body structure, creating a lighter, stiffer structure that also enables “bank vault” levels of quietness
All-new Cadillac 3.0L Twin Turbo engine offer an estimated 400 horsepower (298 kW) and 400 lb-ft of torque (543 Nm), making it among the most power-dense V-6 engines in the segment, at 133 horsepower (99 kW) per liter
Efficiency is enhanced with the industry’s first application of cylinder deactivation technology on a turbocharged V-6 engine, as well as an eight-speed automatic transmission
2.0L I-4 turbocharged and new 3.6L V-6 naturally aspirated engines, each with a new eight-speed automatic transmission
Active-on-demand all-wheel drive featuring a continuously variable clutch that infinitely varies power delivery to the front wheels – up to 959 lb-ft (1,300 Nm) – to make the most of handling and stability in all conditions
Advanced performance chassis system designed to deliver an engaging driving experience – with segment-best ride, handling and isolation qualities – through the use of Active Rear Steer, Magnetic Ride Control and selectable drive modes
Auto Vehicle Hold – a driver-selectable feature that prevents forward/rearward vehicle creep when the driver’s foot is off the brake. It reduces fatigue during heavy stop-and-go traffic and improves vehicle control on steep grades.
Connectivity

True 360-degree camera view around the vehicle, displayed on the Cadillac CUE screen, helps reduce blind spots around the vehicle
Industry-first surround-view video recording system that can record front and rear views while driving, and 360 degrees of recording if the vehicle’s security system is activated
Enhanced Night Vision helps identify people, large animals and more via heat signatures on a display in the driver information center
Rear Camera Mirror is the industry’s first application of full-display technology, combining camera technology with the conventional inside mirror to project an unobstructed view in the mirror
New Advanced Park Assist integrates automatic braking into automatic parking
New Pedestrian Collision Mitigation technology provides pedestrian detection indications, alerts and automatic braking to avoid collisions
Large, 10.2-inch-diagonal CUE interface screen with 1280 x 720 HD resolution and console mounted touchpad. The capacitive-touch screen reacts faster when scrolling and recognizes handwriting for address/points of interest search. The touchpad allows control of CUE features while resting an arm on the center console rather than touching the screen
Wireless phone charging and OnStar 4G LTE with Wi-Fi hotspot.
Indulgence

Bold American luxury design, distinctly Cadillac – a true rear-wheel drive car, with a dramatic dash-to-axle ratio offering classic long, low proportion and luxury presence that commands attention
Lightweight and a design that conveys it. Dynamic use of line work and sophistication and precision in surfacing – CT6 looks as light and agile as it actually is
Elevates modern craftsmanship with curated environments that are rich, expressive and spacious, combining luxurious leathers, exotic woods, and carbon fiber in unprecedented ways
Standard Indirect Fire light-emitting diode front lighting system offers state-of-the-art, more efficient illumination for a distinctive appearance that is both technical and expressive in its character and personality
Extended comfort seats offer a refined, luxurious appearance. Features include premium Opus leather, five massage programs, reclining rear seats and Cadillac’s first application of woven-in-seat heating elements
All-new Articulating Rear Seat package offers new thresholds for comfort and luxury, with approximately 3.3 inches (83 mm) of adjustable seat travel, lumbar adjustment, tilting cushions, massage feature, heating/cooling features and armrest with media controls, including HDMI and USB ports
Comprehensive rear seat infotainment system with articulating 10-inch-diagonal screens that retract into the front seatbacks, along with connectivity for brought-in devices
Quadzone climate system, which employs a secondary full-HVAC system that allows passengers to personalize temperature and airflow for each seating position, along with ionizing air purification
Cadillac-first Bose® Panaray® audio system features 34 strategically placed speakers for exceptional dynamic range and clarity, including the first automotive application of design and technology elements from Bose home entertainment and professional audio products
Concierge welcome lighting that illuminates the outside of the car as the owner approaches, based on the signal from the passive entry fob
Hands-free power deck lid operation
Generous rear-seat legroom – 40.4 inches (1027 mm) – and segment-best interior storage, including 2.2L center console storage volume.
About the architecture
The body-in-white of the 2016 Cadillac CT6 is structurally lighter and stiffer than any other dynamically similar vehicle such as the BMW 5-Series or Audi A6. That state-of-the-art architecture is the foundation for its benchmark-establishing agility and vault-like solidity and quietness.

The new architecture has a mixed-material structure with all-aluminum exterior body panels. Engineers conducted 50 million hours of computational analysis – including 200,000 structural simulations – in its development, generating 21 patents.

“Every panel of the body-in-white is optimized with innovative joining techniques,” said Travis Hester, executive chief engineer, Cadillac CT6. “It’s an uncompromising approach that provides the best balance of strength, lightness and refinement.”

Thirteen high-pressure aluminum die castings in the lower body construction reduce complexity and are significant contributors to the architecture’s low mass. The CT6 is approximately 218 pounds (99 kg) lighter than a comparable vehicle using predominantly high-strength steel.

GM’s most advanced body manufacturing methods are used to fabricate the structure, including proprietary aluminum spot welding technology that is more efficient and helps reduce weight. Laser welding, flow drill fasteners and self-piercing rivets are also employed, along with roughly 591 feet (180 meters) of advanced structural adhesives.

Chassis and suspension highlights
The CT6’s rigid, lightweight architecture is the foundation for its segment-challenging agility, enhanced by active-on-demand all-wheel drive, active rear steering and Magnetic Ride Control on the available Active Chassis System.

“To put it succinctly, every wheel drives and every wheel steers,” said Hester. “And with Magnetic Ride Control, every wheel’s dampening is adjusted by the millisecond, for responsiveness and driver control unparalleled in the segment.”

The chassis system also balances responsiveness with segment-best isolation for exceptional refinement. In the front, the CT6 features a lightweight, aluminum-intensive high-arm multilink short-long arm front suspension. At the rear is a five-link independent suspension that uses multiple outer ball joints and cross braces for optimal handling and steering precision.

Active rear steering with the Active Chassis System contributes to greater low-speed agility and high-speed stability. In parking lots, the turning circle is only 37 feet (11.4 m), comparable with the CTS, which has a 114.6-inch wheelbase vs. the CT6’s 122.4-inch wheelbase.

Active-on-demand all-wheel drive is also part of the Active Chassis System, making the most of handling and stability in all weather conditions. Its lightweight, compact design and two-gear transfer case enable greater fuel economy than conventional fixed-torque all-wheel drive systems. All-wheel drive is standard on all CT6 six-cylinder models.

Selectable Tour, Snow/Ice and Sport modes allow the driver to tailor the CT6’s advanced chassis system for practically any weather or road condition.

Bold proportions, exquisite attention to detail
A bold proportion dominated by a long hood and sleek upper body distinguishes the CT6, evolves the brand portfolio and reinforces the agility enabled by the lightweight architecture.

“This is a car designed for passionate drivers,” said Andrew Smith, executive director, Cadillac Global Design. “CT6 is low, wide and sleek, which is just what you’d expect in a lightweight performance sedan. There is a great dash-to-axle proportion that reinforces the dynamics of the rear-wheel-drive architecture.”

The “face” of Cadillac evolves with the CT6 through new executions of the grille and signature lighting elements. The vertical light signature, for example, features new LED light blades that frame the front of the vehicle, with forward illumination from technologically advanced Indirect Fire LED headlamps.

Proportion, craftsmanship and technology also define the CT6’s cabin. Cadillac designers aimed to deliver a bold, elegant and spacious interior. That elegance is expressed in curated environments and in surface sculpture featuring authentic materials, exquisite details and elevated executions of the brand’s signature cut-and-sew interiors. The CT6 uses state-of-the-art technology to reward its occupants with high levels of comfort, connectivity and safety.

“Never before has such craftsmanship and technology been so seamlessly interwoven,” said Smith. “The CT6 represents our next step in the continuing evolution of the Cadillac brand portfolio.”

Production and manufacturing
Production of the 2016 Cadillac CT6 begins at the end of 2015 for the North American market at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, which underwent a $384-million investment in tooling and other upgrades to support the manufacture of the CT6 and two other products. Chinese-market models will be assembled at an all-new facility in China starting in early 2016.

The CT6 also will be offered in Europe, Korea, Japan, Israel and the Middle East. Production for those markets begins at Detroit-Hamtramck in early 2016.

Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. Today Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio featuring dramatic design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com. Cadillac’s media website with information, images and video can be found at media.cadillac.com

NEW YORK — Cadillac Racing had an incredible 2017 season, and now Cadillac House is becoming a destination for all racing enthusiasts with its latest installation, “Visionaire Racing,” which opens to the public Nov. 16, 2017.

“Visionaire Racing” is the new, action-packed interactive exhibition at The Gallery at Cadillac House. The exhibit is based on 1980s Japanese cult miniature 4WD model-making and racing competitions, and Visionaire brings its own artistic and curatorial twist to the construction and the sport of miniature car racing. In keeping with traditional Mini Yonku racing, both novice and professional racers as well as visitors to Cadillac House are invited to CONSTRUCT (car kits are available for purchase), CREATE (with an array of colorful embellishments) and COMPETE on the East Coast’s largest Mini4wd racing track.

Traditionally, this international phenomenon is about speed, along with personal expression and style. Visionaire Racing and Cadillac’s approach is focused on individuals’ creativity in both racing and artistic expression. Participants can decorate their own Mini4WD race cars, taking inspiration from Artist Cars on display by Tom Sachs, Marilyn Minter, Virgil Abloh, Laurie Simmons, Nicola Formichetti, Will Cotton, Kristin Baker, Heron Preston, Liz Cohen, Ryan McNamara, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Justin Adian, Bill Powers, Modem, Toland Grinnell, Jon Kessler, Van Neistat, Bob Rubin, Giacomo Di Mura and more.

Earlier this week, Cadillac held a private event to celebrate Cadillac Racing’s accomplishments, including the 2017 IMSA Weathertech Sportscar racing championship and 2017 Pirelli World Challenge SprintX Championship. Jordan Taylor of Cadillac Racing, winner of the 2017 IMSA Weather-Tech DPi driver championship, and other members of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar racing championship teams were recognized by Cadillac executives, including Johan de Nysschen (global president, Cadillac), Andrew Smith (director of design, Cadillac) and Brandon Vivien (executive chief engineer, Cadillac). Members of Cadillac’s Racing teams, including Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express, along with event guests were the first to build miniature race cars and compete against each other on the brand-new Visionaire Racing mini racetrack.

Championship vehicles were on display, including the Cadillac DPi-V.R No. 10, the Cadillac DPi-V.R No. 31, the ATS-VR Racing Sportscar and a CTS-V in Vector Blue. The ATS-VR Racing Sportscar, which was driven in the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge SprintX Championship, will remain on display from Nov. 15 through early December at Cadillac House, along with the Vector Blue CTS-V and the Glacier Metallic CTS-V, two new colors for the V-Series.

Visionaire Racing is open to the public for racing every day from Nov. 16, 2017, to Jan. 15, 2018, from 12 p.m. until 7 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on weekends. (Call 212-418-3477 for holiday hours.) Visitors can bring their own Tamiya Mini4WD cars, buy cars on-site to race and keep, or race and return one of the available cars.

There will be qualifying competitions on select Sundays (12/3, 12/10, 12/17) with a Grand Finale Race on 1/7.

SUNDAY QUALIFYING RACES: 12/3, 12/10, 12/17
GRAND FINALE SHOWDOWN: 1/7 The race track opens at noon and the first race will begin at 1 p.m.
@VISIONAIREWORLD #CADILLACHOUSE @CADILLAC

#VISRACING #MINI4WD

ABOUT VISIONAIRE
VISIONAIRE, founded by Cecilia Dean and James Kaliardos in 1991, conceptualizes and produces public art installations, films, experiences, branded content, art multiples, and products — all curated through the lens of art, fashion and contemporary culture. With its unparalleled roster of contributing artists, photographers, filmmakers, fashion creatives, and cultural icons, VISIONAIRE remains at the forefront of groundbreaking creativity in all different media.

ABOUT CADILLAC HOUSE
CADILLAC HOUSE is Cadillac’s first-ever brand experience center—a public space that brings Cadillac’s design sensibility and passion points to life through a range of dynamic, curated programming and events across the arts, fashion, entertainment, and hospitality. Located in downtown New York City, Cadillac House represents the brand’s commitment to its new home and as a result, offers diverse experiences including a gallery, retail space, and café and exhibition area for the brand’s vehicles— resulting in a venue with an ever-evolving point of view on subjects beyond the automotive industry.

Today Cadillac is introducing the Morello Red Edition for the CTS V-Sport performance sedan. This detailed interior package enhances the CTS V-Sport’s striking exterior design and engaging performance.

The Morello Red Edition interior includes Jet Black RECARO® race-inspired seats with red contrast stitching, red front and rear door armrests and stunning Morello Red-accented high-gloss carbon-fiber interior trim. A Black Chrome grille and Gloss Black side window surround trim provide the sport sedan’s chiseled exterior with a dark and distinguished look.

For the 2018 Cadillac CTS V-Sport and CTS V-Sport Premium Luxury models, the 2018 Morello Red Edition is available now to order at local Cadillac dealerships or through the Build Your Own tool on Cadillac.com. Customers can call the Cadillac Customer Experience at 1-800-458-8006 for additional information.

Cadillac CTS V-Sport Morello Red Edition

Unique Content

Black Chrome accented grille
Gloss Black side window trim
V-Sport base spoiler
RECARO® seats with sueded inserts
Sueded microfiber steering wheel and shift knob
Morello carbon-fiber trim
Morello Red interior trim (red front/rear door and center armrests)
Available Model Choices

3.6L V-Sport RWD
3.6L V-Sport Premium Luxury RWD
Available Interior Choices

Jet Black with Morello Red Accents
Available Exterior Colors

Black Raven: No Charge
Phantom Gray Metallic: $625
Satin Steel Metallic: $625
Crystal White Tricoat: $1,225
Additional options for non-Premium Luxury CTS V-Sport include:

Luxury Package:
Tri-zone climate control
Heated rear outboard seating positions
Power rear-window sunshade
Manual rear side-window sunshades
110-volt power receptacle
Ultra-view sunroof
Rear Camera Mirror
Additional option for both CTS V-Sport and CTS V-Sport Premium Luxury:

Performance Exhaust and Engine Cover Package
Catback exhaust system
Red-painted engine cover

NEW YORK — Cadillac and The Andy Warhol Museum today announced a multi-year partnership and new global traveling exhibition titled Letters to Andy Warhol. The collaborative project between the brand and the cultural institution celebrates Warhol’s legacy through imaginative, co-created content and experiences. The exhibition features rarely seen material from the museum’s archive, including artwork and Warhol’s personal correspondence, plus artistic contributions from several modern-day cultural creators. Together, the works explore recurring themes from the Warhol’s body of work such as the blurring of art and commerce and the trials of fame. The result is an examination of not only Warhol, the American icon, but also Warhol the multi-faceted, sensitive and ambitious artist who reached for inspiration across the colliding worlds of fashion, music, media, art and celebrity.  

Letters to Andy Warhol focuses on five letters to or from Yves Saint Laurent, Mick Jagger, the Museum of Modern Art, the New York State Department of Public Works and a mutual friend of his and Truman Capote that offer a glimpse into Warhol’s most personal experiences and relationships. Each letter has also inspired artistic contributions and experiences from a roster of talent including Aimee Mullins, Brian Atwood, Chiara Clemente, Derek Blasberg, David LaChapelle, Francesco Clemente, J.J. Martin, Nick Rhodes, Sean Lennon, Sienna Miller and Zac Posen.

The exhibition also includes five artworks across varying mediums and techniques, and from different periods of Warhol’s career, that all share Cadillac as the subject.
“Andy Warhol’s mastery of popular culture as high art made him one of the most influential American artists of the last century,” said Melody Lee, director of Brand Marketing for Cadillac. Letters to Andy Warhol celebrates Warhol’s unique individualism, and Cadillac as a cultural inspiration for his important work.”

“Andy Warhol painted a portrait of American life. The Warhol’s partnership with Cadillac, an iconic American brand that appears in Warhol’s work, feels completely right to us,” says Patrick Moore, The Warhol’s interim director. “We’re excited to be part of an exhibition that examines the continuing influence of Warhol on contemporary culture through the lens of some of today’s most influential tastemakers.”

The Cadillac artworks on display in Letters to Andy Warhol include:
Four Male Costumed Full Figures, 1950s and Car, 1950s, were both works created as a commission for Harper’s Bazaar, which requested that he “make a visual comment on the phenomenon of the American motorcar.” The works illustrate a 1958 Cadillac Coupe de Ville.

Cadillac, 1962 in graphite on sketchbook paper.
Seven Cadillacs, 1962 depicts what is likely a 1963 Fleetwood (Special) four-door hardtop in black silkscreen ink on linen.
Sign (Keep Out) 1976-1986, 1986 consists of four gelatin silver photographs, machine-stitched in a grid with thread, picturing what is likely a 1983 Cadillac Coupe de Ville d’Elegance.
During the initial few weeks of the exhibition, Cadillac House will have a Cadillac Park Avenue DeVille featured in the Seven Cadillacs, 1962 work on display. This is a limited production model from 1962 and 1963 designed specifically for Cadillac owners who lived in New York City high rise apartments with underground garages, with a shorter deck for easier parking. Other heritage vehicles that will be on display include a black 1958 Sedan DeVille and a red 1959 Eldorado Biarritz. 

The exhibition will be free and open to the public at Cadillac House, located at 330 Hudson Street in Manhattan, from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. weekends from Nov. 15-Dec. 26.
Letters to Andy Warhol will then travel to Los Angeles in mid-January for display at the 101/EXHIBIT Gallery and to Miami in early February for display at Palm Court before going on a global tour through early 2018.

ABOUT Cadillac
Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. Today Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio featuring distinctive design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com. Cadillac’s media website with information, images and video can be found at media.cadillac.com.

ABOUT the andy warhol museum
Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the place of Andy Warhol’s birth, The Andy Warhol Museum holds the largest collection of Warhol’s artworks and archival materials and is one of the most comprehensive single-artist museums in the world. The Andy Warhol Museum is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.  Additional information about The Warhol is available at www.warhol.org.

ABOUT CADILLAC HOUSE
Cadillac House is a meeting place where innovators, creators and the curious can find inspiration–and one another. Located in downtown New York City, Cadillac House represents the brand’s commitment to its new home, one of the most dynamic locales in the world. Open to the public, Cadillac House functions simultaneously as a gallery, retail space, café and exhibition area for the brand’s new vehicles – a venue with an ever-evolving Cadillac point of view on subjects beyond automotive design. Cadillac House has several partnerships including: New York-based coffeehouse Joe Coffee serving coffee and light fare, The Council of Fashion Designers of America maintaining a retail space dedicated to innovative design, and art and culture magazine Visionaire curating non-traditional, immersive and experiential works in the gallery area.

RICHMOND, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 16, 2014– For 10 years in a row, CarMax, Inc. (NYSE: KMX), the nation’s largest retailer of used cars, has been named by FORTUNE magazine as one of its “100 Best Companies to Work For.” CarMax ranks No. 54 for 2014.

The growing company is hiring for more than 1,400 positions across the country in all business areas including sales, purchasing, business office and service operations, and has plans to open between 10 and 15 stores each year for the next two fiscal years. Interested candidates can visit the CarMax careers page to apply and view videos from associates on why CarMax is a great place to work.

“We are a young company, recently celebrating our 20th birthday, and our culture of integrity, diversity and respect has been in place since day one,” said Tom Folliard, CarMax president and chief executive officer. “CarMax associates have the opportunity to build fulfilling careers, with strong personal and professional development and a sense of family. A decade on this list is a testament to that.”

CarMax has opened 11 stores in the current fiscal year, with two more scheduled. The unique CarMax experience continues to be introduced throughout the country in areas including Savannah, Ga,, St. Louis, Mo., and the Delaware Valley. CarMax’s first store of the upcoming fiscal year will open in March in Rochester, its first store in the state of New York.

CarMax starts with selecting the best cars that meet its high retail standards. Every used car the company retails is CarMax Quality Certified, undergoing a rigorous 125-point inspection, and is protected by a 30-Day Limited Warranty and a 5-Day Money-Back Guarantee. Consumers can search the inventory of more than 35,000 vehicles by fuel economy and features, read customer reviews, and view a free vehicle history report, all on carmax.com.

Related stories will appear in the new issue of FORTUNE available on newsstands January 20; the complete list is available today online.

To pick the 100 Best Companies to Work For, FORTUNE partners with the Great Place to Work Institute to conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America; 257 firms participated in this year’s survey. More than 252,000 employees at those companies were surveyed by the institute, a global research and consulting firm operating in 45 countries around the world. Two-thirds of a company’s score is based on the results of the institute’s Trust Index survey, which is sent to a random sample of employees from each company. The survey asks questions related to their attitudes about management’s credibility, job satisfaction, and camaraderie. The other third is based on responses to the institute’s Culture Audit, which includes detailed questions about pay and benefit programs and a series of open-ended questions about hiring practices, methods of internal communication, training, recognition programs, and diversity efforts.

This Press Release is courtesy Carmax corporate website

RICHMOND, Virginia – CarMax, Inc . (NYSE: KMX), the nation’s largest retailer of used cars , is celebrating the grand opening of the company’s third store in Seattle. The store is located at 3751 E. Valley Rd. in Renton and has the capacity to stock approximately 300 used vehicles of nearly every make and model. Customers can also request transfers to the Renton CarMax of almost any vehicle from other CarMax locations throughout the country.

In celebration of the Renton store grand opening, CarMax and The CarMax Foundation awarded $15,000 in donations and grants to the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County. Support for this organization came at the recommendation of the Renton CarMax associates.

CarMax will also be donating an Imagination Playground valued at more than $15,000 to the South Park Community Center, through its partnership with KaBOOM! to make play more accessible to children and families. Imagination Playgrounds are innovative, loose-parts playgrounds that engage kids in creative play that is physically challenging and collaborative.

“Our team is excited to be able to contribute to the betterment of children in the Renton community,” said Sheldon Orme, location general manager of the Renton CarMax. “CarMax’s commitment to honesty and integrity makes this gift even more meaningful as we see the values of our company making a positive impact on both our customers and the community as a whole.”

The Renton CarMax store still has open job positions available for sales consultants. These positions do not require experience in the automotive industry and many CarMax associates have worked for other major retailers, such as Target, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart and Macy’s. Applications are now being accepted on the retailer’s website at jobs.carmax.com .

CarMax disrupted the industry more than 20 years ago by offering a high integrity car-buying experience customers want that’s transparent and stress-free. Since that time, CarMax has continued to revolutionize the experience through customer-focused technology innovations. Approximately 90% of CarMax purchasers start on CarMax.com or the CarMax mobile app . Customers can browse CarMax’s nationwide inventory of nearly 50,000 vehicles, hold a vehicle for a test drive, schedule an appraisal , and even get pre-qualified for financing before visiting the store. CarMax stands behind their vehicles with a 5-Day Money-Back Guarantee and a 30-Day Limited Warranty (60-Day in CT, MN & RI, 90-Day in MA, NY and NJ).

About CarMax
CarMax is the nation’s largest retailer of used cars and operates more than 180 stores in 39 states nationwide. CarMax revolutionized the auto industry by delivering the honest, transparent and high-integrity car buying experience customers want and deserve. For more than 20 years, CarMax has made car buying more ethical, fair and stress-free by offering a no-haggle, no-hassle experience and an incredible selection of vehicles. CarMax makes selling your car easy too, by offering no-obligation appraisals good for seven days. At CarMax, we’ll buy your car even if you don’t buy ours®. CarMax has more than 24,000 associates nationwide and for 13 consecutive years has been named as one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For®. During the 12 months ending February 28, 2017, the company retailed 671,294 used cars and sold 391,686 wholesale vehicles at its in-store auctions. For more information, access the CarMax website at www.carmax.com .

RICHMOND, Virginia – CarMax, Inc. (NYSE: KMX), the nation’s largest retailer of used cars, announced that it is hiring to fill more than 60 positions for a new CarMax location in Wilmington, North Carolina, slated to open in September 2018. The new Wilmington store will be located at 6030 Market Street and will be the first CarMax store in the Wilmington area and 11th store in North Carolina.

With competitive pay and benefits; and a foundation built around integrity, trust and giving back; CarMax has been named one of FORTUNE magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For® 14 consecutive years. Applications are now being accepted on the retailer’s website at jobs.carmax.com.

Who is CarMax Hiring?

CarMax is seeking applicants for full and part-time positions.
Available positions include sales and service operations positions, including inventory associates, service advisors and technicians.
CarMax is offering up to $5,000 sign on bonuses for automotive technicians and $1,500 sign on bonuses for automotive painters (based on experience level).
Technicians require previous automotive experience, however most positions do not.
Many CarMax associates have worked for other major retailers, such as Target, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart and Macy’s.
Why Work at CarMax?

CarMax is committed to hiring people with strong values of integrity, transparency and respect. We live these values every day and they drive how we treat our associates and our customers.
CarMax offers unmatched training and support for associate career growth.
CarMax offers competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package.
Stores are equipped with climate controlled, state-of-the-art service bays with quality equipment
CarMax Associates also receive discounts on car purchases and other services.
CarMax is recognized as one of FORTUNE magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For®, 15 Best Workplaces in Retail and 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials, as well as one of TRAINING Magazine’s “Training Top 125” companies in America.
How Can Job Seekers Apply?

Applications are only accepted online. Job seekers should apply at jobs.carmax.com.
About CarMax
CarMax is the nation’s largest retailer of used cars and operates more than 190 stores in 41 states nationwide. CarMax revolutionized the auto industry by delivering the honest, transparent and high-integrity car buying experience customers want and deserve. For nearly 25 years, CarMax has made car buying more ethical, fair and stress-free by offering a no-haggle, no-hassle experience and an incredible selection of vehicles. CarMax makes selling your car easy too, by offering no-obligation appraisals good for seven days. At CarMax, we’ll buy your car even if you don’t buy ours®. CarMax has nearly 25,000 associates nationwide and for 14 consecutive years has been named as one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For®. During the 12 months ending February 28, 2018, the company retailed 721,512 used cars and sold 408,509 wholesale vehicles at its in-store auctions. For more information, access the CarMax website at www.carmax.com.

RICHMOND, Virginia – CarMax, Inc. (NYSE: KMX), the nation’s largest retailer of used cars and one of FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” for ten consecutive years, is recruiting for more than 1,000 positions in locations across the country. The company is growing and offers a variety of careers. The majority of open positions are in service operations (detailers, experienced technicians) and sales, with additional positions in purchasing and the business office. These are full and part-time permanent positions, with day and evening shifts available.

“From day one, new associates are an integral part of our culture and business,” said Tom Folliard, president and CEO of CarMax. “They are our most valuable asset, and trusted advisors to our customers and to each other.”

CarMax offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes health coverage, paid time off, insurance and disability, and retirement options for full-time associates. The company also offers competitive pay and promotes a diverse work environment. Stores are equipped with climate controlled, state of the art service bays with quality equipment. Employees receive discounts on car purchases and other services.

Some of the areas with a large number of service job openings include Sacramento and Bakersfield, California; Cincinnati, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Huntsville, Alabama.

“Strong customer service skills, a high level of integrity and the desire to work in a team environment are some of the qualities we look for,” said Donna Schaar, assistant vice president of talent acquisition for CarMax. “Candidates who are ready to be part of the hassle-free and fun CarMax car-buying experience should apply now.”

How Can Job Seekers Apply?

Applications are only accepted online. Job seekers should apply at http://www.carmax.com/careers.
To see a video with first-hand accounts from CarMax associates, visit the YouTube page on youtube.com/carmax.
Technicians require previous automotive experience, however most positions do not.

About CarMax
CarMax, a member of the FORTUNE 500 and the S&P 500, and one of the FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” for 10 consecutive years, is the nation’s largest retailer of used vehicles. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, CarMax currently operates 139 superstores in 70 markets. The CarMax consumer offer features low, no-haggle prices, a broad selection of CarMax Quality Certified used vehicles, and superior customer service. During the 12 months ending February 28, 2014, the company retailed 526,929 used cars and sold 342,576 wholesale vehicles at our in-store auctions. For more information, access the CarMax website at www.carmax.com.

MILFORD, Mich. – General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) CEO Mary Barra and her executive leadership team outlined the company’s customer-focused strategic plan to become the most valued automotive company at a conference for investors and financial analysts today at the company’s Milford Proving Ground.

“In the nine months that this leadership team has been together, we have spent a significant amount of time setting our goals for the future of GM and developing a specific action plan,” Barra said. “Our strategic plan is a pathway to earn customers for life and create significant shareholder value in the process. Every chance to connect with a customer is an opportunity to build a stronger relationship.”

GM’s strategic plan includes several major initiatives that the company anticipates will help it achieve 9- to 10-percent margins on an EBIT-adjusted basis by early next decade.

Lead in Product and Technology: In 2015, about 27 percent of GM’s global sales volume is expected to come from products new or refreshed within 18 months. That figure is expected to rise to 38 percent in 2016 and 2017, and reach 47 percent in 2019.
During the same time frame, GM plans to execute the world’s largest automotive deployment of 4G LTE high-speed mobile broadband, introduce vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity in the 2017 Cadillac CTS and launch a highly automated driving technology currently called Super Cruise, which allows for extended periods of hands-free driving on highways.
GM has also developed an innovative Mixed Material Body Structure that uses GM-patented welding technology and a combination of steel and aluminum stampings, castings and extrusions to deliver designs that are lightweight, use 20 percent fewer parts, have class-leading torsional stiffness and exhibit superior noise and vibration characteristics.
Grow Cadillac: GM is establishing its flagship brand as a separate business unit headquartered in New York City to pursue growth opportunities in the luxury market with more focus and clarity. Cadillac expects to introduce four new vehicles in North America in 2015, including the recently announced CT6. In addition, Cadillac plans to introduce nine new models in the next five years in China, which is expected to become the world’s largest luxury car market later this decade.
Continue Growing in China: GM’s joint ventures in China are planning to invest $14 billion from 2014 through 2018 to open five new vehicle- manufacturing plants and support sales of just under 5 million vehicles annually. In the same time frame, GM expects to launch 60 new or refreshed vehicles, including nine new sport utility vehicles.
Continue Growing GM Financial: GM Financial, which has seen its earning assets grow from $8.7 billion in 2010 to $37 billion today, continues to invest to support the sale of new GM cars, trucks and crossovers around the world. GM Financial has sharply increased the number of GM customers it serves in the United States, Canada, South America and Europe. Later this year, GM Financial expects to enter the growing Chinese market.
Deliver Core Operating Efficiencies: GM’s strategy to improve relationships with suppliers, derive more global volume from fewer vehicle architectures and lower enterprise costs for material and logistics is expected to deliver significantly better variable margins on upcoming high-volume product launches, including the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa and Astra in Europe, and the Chevrolet Cruze and Malibu in North America. By 2020, the company expects that about 99 percent of global production will be on core architectures.
Mid-decade Financial Targets

During the meeting, GM also reaffirmed the company’s previously announced near-term financial targets:

In North America, the company expects to achieve EBIT-adjusted margins of 10 percent in 2016.
In Europe, the company expects to return to profitability in 2016.
In China, the company expects that its joint ventures will maintain net income margins in the 9- to 10-percent range.
In South America, the company’s core operations continue to improve as a result of recent product launches and material and logistics optimization.
GM continues to address challenges in its international operations outside of China, including brand strategy, cost structure and sourcing to return to consistent profitability.
GM intends to return excess cash flow to stockholders primarily through strong and growing dividends based on sustained improvements in the company’s underlying financial performance.

About General Motors Co.
General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world’s largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.

Mumbai: The Board of Directors of Tata Sons, at its meeting today, appointed Mr. N. Chandrasekaran as Executive Chairman. This is as per the unanimous recommendation of the Selection Committee. Mr. Chandrasekaran shall take charge from February 21, 2017.

The Board of Tata Sons said: “Mr. Chandrasekaran has demonstrated exemplary leadership as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services. We believe he will now inspire the entire Tata group to realise its potential acting as leaders in their respective businesses, always in keeping with our value system and ethics and adhering with the practices of the Tata group which have stood it in good stead.”

Mr. Chandrasekaran was the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services since 2009. A Tata lifer, he had joined the company in 1987. He was appointed as a Director on the board of Tata Sons on October 25, 2016.

On his appointment as the Chairman of Tata Sons, N Chandrasekaran has said: “I am humbled and honoured to be chosen to lead a truly great institution that occupies a unique position in hearts of the people in India and the world. I am proud to have been part of the Tata family for over 30 years and assuming this position is a great privilege.

“I want to thank the Tata Sons board and Mr Ratan N Tata for their confidence in me to lead this trusted institution that has a rich heritage.

“At the Tata group, we are at an inflection point. I am aware that this role comes with huge responsibilities. It will be my endeavour to help progress the group with the ethos, ethics and values that the Tata group has been built on.”

JERUSALEM, March 11, 2022 — Chery and Haier set up a joint venture – Anhui Haixingyun Iot Technology Co., Ltd. The joint venture will use the COSMOPlat of Haier to build the first mass customization industrial Internet platform in China’s automobile industry and jointly build a new Internet ecosystem for the automobile industry. The establishment of the joint venture between the two sides is a combination of “industrial Internet + automobile manufacturing” and the first application of mass customization mode in the automobile industry.

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The joint venture will take advantage of Chery’s leading position in the field of automobile manufacturing and COSMOPlat advantages in the field of industrial Internet platform to carry out the research and development, sales, implementation and operation and maintenance of Internet-related applications in the automobile industry. The joint venture will not only accelerate the digital transformation of Chery and its upstream and downstream industrial chains, but also create a model that can be replicated and promoted abroad to accelerate the transformation and upgrading of China’s automobile industry.

In the cooperation, Chery will rely on its core technologies, RESEARCH and development system and process advantages built over 24 years in the automotive industry, as well as technology layout and product development resources in the fields of new energy, intelligent connectivity and autonomous driving, give full play to the driving role of upstream and downstream enterprises in the auto industry chain, and serve for the large-scale application of industrial Internet platform in the auto industry and the acceleration of intelligent transformation.

In the future, Chery will take “three steps” to build an industrial Internet platform: The first step is to take intelligent super factory as the core to lead Chery’s digital comprehensive transformation and establish an enterprise-level platform; the second step is to achieve rapid regional coverage, fully empower SMEs to digital transformation, and create a cross-regional industry platform; the third step is to extend to the overseas market under the guidance of domestic and international double circulation and build an international “dual-cross” platform. Based on the industrial Internet, Chery will take users as the pointer to build a digital Chery of intelligent travel, intelligent decision-making and intelligent interconnection, and fully embrace the era of intelligent cars.

For further information, please contact
Chery’s official social media
Facebook: Chery Israel
Instagram: cheryisrael1

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1764691/image.jpg

CONTACT: Bella Peng, pengxiaoyan@mychery.com, +86-18772765912

SOURCE Chery

DETROIT — General Motors (NYSE: GM) sold 249,983 vehicles in December to individual or “retail” customers in the U.S., up more than 3 percent from last year. Based on initial estimates, GM was the fastest growing full-line automaker in December and in 2016, led by strong retail sales gains at Chevrolet. GM turned in its best U.S. December retail sales performance since 2007.
Chevrolet’s December retail sales jumped by 8 percent, keeping Chevrolet the industry’s fastest-growing brand. Chevrolet posted its best December retail sales performance since 2005 and its best calendar year retail performance since 2006. 

Based on initial estimates, GM’s December U.S. retail market share rose 0.3 points to 17.6 percent. GM has gained retail market share in 18 of the past 21 months. For the year, GM gained 0.5 points of retail market share, pushing retail market share to 16.8 percent. For 2016, GM was the U.S. retail industry’s fastest-growing manufacturer.

Chevrolet gained an estimated 0.7 points of U.S. retail market share in December to 11.5 percent.

GM’s total U.S. sales in December were 319,108, up 10 percent from last year. In December, GM’s total U.S. market share was up 1.5 points to 18.8 percent. GM’s December U.S. Commercial sales were up more than 1 percent to the highest levels since 2007, reflecting a growing U.S. economy.

“We finished 2016 with a strong December, reflecting the continued strength of GM’s U.S. retail and commercial businesses,” said Kurt McNeil, GM’s vice president of U.S. Sales Operations. “We begin 2017 well positioned to continue growing our U.S. retail business, driven by all-new products like the Chevrolet Equinox and Traverse being launched into key, growing U.S. market segments.” 

For 2016, GM’s U.S. retail sales were up nearly 2 percent, compared to last year. GM gained 0.5 points of U.S. retail market share, the largest retail share gain of any automaker. For the year, Chevrolet U.S. retail sales were up more than 3 percent and the brand’s retail share has grown 0.5 points to 11.2 percent. Chevrolet continues to be the U.S. automotive industry’s fastest-growing brand, gaining nearly 1 point of retail market share in the past two years.

Buick’s U.S. retail sales grew by nearly 5 percent in 2016, led by the brand’s crossovers, the Encore and Envision. In 2016, Buick gained 0.1 points of U.S. retail share.
GM continues to benefit from the ongoing strength of the U.S. economy and growing U.S. retail demand for its products.

“Key economic indicators, especially consumer confidence, continue to reflect optimism about the U.S. economy and strong customer demand continues to drive a very healthy U.S. auto industry,” said Mustafa Mohatarem, GM’s chief economist. “We believe the U.S. auto industry remains well-positioned for sales to continue at or near record levels in 2017.”
December 2016 Retail Sales and Business Highlights vs. December 2015 (except as noted)

Chevrolet
Colorado was up 20 percent.
Trax, Equinox and Traverse were up 43 percent, 38 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
Spark, Impala, Volt, Sonic, Corvette and Malibu were up 210 percent, 95 percent, 76 percent, 50 percent, 10 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
Volt had its best month and year ever.
Malibu had its best calendar year sales since 1980.
Impala had its best December since 2008
Equinox had its best month ever.
Traverse had its best December and year ever.
Colorado had it best December since 2004.

GMC
GMC’s December ATPs reached a December record of $45,209 and a calendar year record of $43,088.
Acadia, Yukon and Yukon XL were up 31 percent, 2 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
Canyon was up 25 percent and had its best December and year ever.
Denali penetration in December was nearly 30 percent, led by Yukon and Yukon XL at 61 percent and 62 percent, respectively.

Buick
Buick had its best year since 2005.
Encore was up 16 percent.
Buick dealers sold 3,074 Envisions.
Cadillac
Escalade was up 8 percent.
Escalade had its best month since December 2007.
XT5 had its best month since launch with significantly higher ATPs than its predecessor.
December ATPs were $56,949, the highest monthly ATP ever.
Average Transaction Prices (ATP)/Incentives (based on JD Power PIN estimates through 12/25/16)

GM’s ATPs, which reflect retail transaction prices after sales incentives, were $36,386 in December, more than $4,000 above the industry average and up $740 from last month. 
For the year, GM ATPs were $35,371, more than $4,260 above the industry average and up $720 over the 2015 average.
In December, GM’s incentive spending as a percent of ATP was 13.0 percent, down compared to last month.
For the year, GM’s incentive spending as a percent of ATP was 11.9 percent, well below the incentive spending of its domestic competitors and many of its global competitors.

Fleet and Commercial
December daily rental sales were up, but finished 2016 down nearly 74,000 vehicles or 18 percent compared to 2015.
GM’s daily rental sales in 2016 were 10.7 percent of total GM sales.
Malibu Commercial deliveries were up 35 percent for the month, large van Commercial deliveries were up 7 percent and large pick-up Commercial deliveries were up 4 percent.
Federal government sales were up 3 percent for the calendar year.

Industry Sales
GM estimates that the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate (SAAR) for light vehicles in December was approximately 18.2 million units. On a calendar year-to-date basis, GM estimates the light-vehicle industry was 17.5 million units, a new U.S. calendar year record.
General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world’s largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com

LAS VEGAS – Chevrolet announced at the Consumer Electronics Show today an industry-first Performance Data Recorder for the 2015 Corvette Stingray. The fully integrated system enables users to record high-definition video, with telemetry overlays, of their driving experiences on and off the track.

“The Performance Data Recorder combines the ability to record and share drive videos with the power of a professional-level motorsports telemetry system,” said Tadge Juechter, Corvette chief engineer. “Drivers can easily record and share their experiences driving down the Tail of the Dragon or lapping Road Atlanta. In addition, with the included telemetry software, users can analyze their laps in incredible detail and find opportunities to improve their driving and lap times.”

The Performance Data Recorder, or PDR, system was developed with Cosworth, the British motorsports-engineering company that supplies the Corvette Racing team’s data acquisition and telemetry electronics system. It will be available with the start of regular 2015 Corvette production, later in the third quarter of 2014. Pricing will be announced closer to launch.

The PDR system includes three major components, all seamlessly integrated into the Corvette Stingray’s interior. First is a 720p, high-definition camera, mounted within the windshield header trim, which records the driver’s point-of-view through the windshield. Audio is recorded via a dedicated microphone in the cabin.

Second is a self-contained telemetry recorder. The system uses a dedicated GPS receiver that operates at 5 hertz, or cycles per second. That is five times faster than the in-dash navigation system and allows more precise positioning and corner traces. The recorder is also hard-wired into the Stingray’s Controller Area Network, or CAN, to access vehicle information, ranging from engine speed and transmission-gear selection to braking force and steering-wheel angle.

Finally, the system features a dedicated SD-card slot in the glove box for recording and transferring video and vehicle data. Recording time depends on the capacity of the memory card, but an 8-gigabyte card can record approximately 200 minutes, while a 32-GB card stores up to about 800 minutes – more than 13 hours of driving time.

The PDR system can record video with three data overlay options, each rendered in real time:
■Track Mode – shows the maximum level of data on the screen, including speed, rpm, g-force, a location-based map, lap time and more.
■Sport Mode – shows fewer details on the overlay but includes key data including speed and g-force
■Touring Mode – simply records and displays video and audio of the drive with no data overlay
■Performance Mode – records performance metrics, such as 0 to 60 mph acceleration, 1/4-mile speed and elapsed time, and 0-100-0 mph runs.

The video can be viewed on the Corvette Stingray’s eight-inch color touchscreen when the car is parked, or downloaded to a computer for further editing, and sharing video via social media sites.

For users who want a more in-depth understanding of their performance, the PDR vehicle data can be opened in the included “Cosworth Toolbox” software, which combines Cosworth’s professional-level motorsport data analysis with an easy-to-use graphic interface.

The Cosworth Toolbox application overlays recorded laps on a Bing-enabled satellite map of the track, and compares selected laps in detail for any requested point on the drive. Comparisons include corner traces, vehicle speed, and cornering force to help drivers improve their driving consistency and ultimately their lap times.

“The ability to review laps between track sessions can identify immediate adjustments for quicker laps in the next session,” said Juechter. “It’s like having a 32-GB crew chief trackside providing you with real-time feedback to improve your driving skills.”

This Press Release is courtesy of GM.com

DETROIT — GM and Chevrolet are teaming up with the George W. Bush Presidential Center to honor and support those who have served and sacrificed to protect the security and freedom of all Americans.

At 4:30 p.m. PST on Jan. 20, 2018, Chevrolet will offer the first retail production Corvette Carbon 65 Edition coupe, signed by President George W. Bush, for auction at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The money raised will benefit the Bush Center’s Military Service Initiative. The Military Service Initiative’s primary goal is ensuring that post-9/11 veterans and their families make successful transitions to civilian life, with a focus on gaining meaningful employment and overcoming the invisible wounds of war.

With more than 6,000 veterans employed at GM and more than 50,000 GM retirees who are veterans, GM and Chevrolet are proud to help those who have given so much for their country.

For details about the Barrett-Jackson auction and how to bid on this special Corvette, please visit:

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Home/Scottsdale-2018/93f04d0d-614b-4e1c-b4ca-c87d88b709c4

2018 Corvette Carbon 65

The first Corvette rolled out of the factory on June 30, 1953. Chevrolet is commemorating the 65th anniversary of that auspicious debut with a new track-inspired Corvette Carbon Edition 65 package offered on 2018 Grand Sport and Z06 models.

Limited to only 650 vehicles, each with a unique vehicle identification number, the distinctive package blends visible carbon-fiber exterior elements similar to the Corvette Racing C7.R with a new Ceramic Matrix Gray exterior color and unique interior appointments that include a new carbon-fiber-rimmed steering wheel.

Vehicle Content:
Available on Grand Sport 3LT and Z06 3LZ trims (order code Z30)
Ceramic Matrix Gray exterior (blue top on Convertibles)
Unique fender stripes and door graphics
Black wheels with machined grooves (Cup-style wheels for Grand Sport and Blade-style wheels for Z06)
Blue brake calipers
Visible carbon-fiber ground effects, hood section and roof (Coupe models) or tonneau inserts (Convertible models)
New visible carbon-fiber spoiler (all models) and quarter intake ducts (Coupe)
Center caps with Carbon logo
Carbon Flash badges and outside mirrors
Jet Black suede-wrapped interior with blue stitching
Carbon-fiber steering wheel rim and gloss carbon-fiber interior trim
Competition Sport seats
Carbon Edition sill plates
About Chevrolet:
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

DETROIT — In response to the growing customer demand for more data, Chevrolet and AT&T are making it easier for Chevrolet owners to add an AT&T unlimited data plan to their vehicle. Starting May 12, a Chevrolet owner with an in-vehicle OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot1 and AT&T wireless account can add unlimited data to their vehicle at any of the nearly 5,000 AT&T retail stores in the U.S., by visiting att.com/connectedcar or by logging into their MyATT account2.

“With Chevrolet 4G LTE data plan sales jumping nearly 275 percent in March year-over-year, providing customers with additional choices as to where and how they buy data was important to us,” said Paul Edwards, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of Marketing. “Whether you are at a job site in your Silverado or letting your family stream videos on a road trip in your Traverse, Chevrolet owners will never be far from being able to sign up for an unlimited 4G LTE data plan.”

“More and more car owners are seeing the benefits of unlimited data on the go,” said Joe Mosele, vice president, Internet of Things Solutions, AT&T. “We are pleased to make this feature widely available for Chevrolet owners in our retail stores across the country. It’s now as easy as ever to sign up for in-vehicle unlimited data.”

For $20 a month, the unlimited data plan allows Chevrolet owners to utilize the full potential of their OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot and access all of their content and enjoy endless entertainment on the go without worrying about paying overages (After 22GB of data usage, AT&T may slow speeds.).

Chevrolet became the first mass-market automaker to offer a 4G LTE unlimited data plan for all customers in early March. Since then, Chevrolet data usage has increased exponentially as owners have come to appreciate the ability to stream video on a tablet, send email on a laptop or play online using a gaming console in their vehicles3. Last month, Chevrolet owners used 415 percent more data than in April 2016.

As the first automaker to offer 4G LTE connectivity across its entire retail portfolio, Chevrolet has sold 3.5 million OnStar 4G LTE-connected vehicles since June 2014.

OnStar 4G LTE, which is enabled by AT&T, was introduced across the Chevrolet portfolio for the 2015 model year in the U.S. and Canada. Today, a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot is standard equipment on all new Chevrolet retail models along with the OnStar Basic Plan4, which also features remote vehicle access and the AtYourService marketplace via the myChevrolet mobile app5 among other features.

For more information on how to find an AT&T store, please visit www.att.com.

ABOUT CHEVROLET
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

DETROIT – Chevrolet announced today it will offer low cab forward medium-duty trucks in the U.S. in 2016, returning the brand to a growing segment of the commercial vehicle market and expanding choices for fleet and commercial truck customers.

The six new models – Chevrolet 3500, 3500HD, 4500, 4500HD, 5500 and 5500 HD – are based on the Isuzu N-Series, which GM will procure from Isuzu and distribute through Chevrolet dealers.

“Bringing low cab forward trucks back to our portfolio strengthens Chevrolet’s commitment to providing commercial customers with more choices and provides customers with a versatile lineup of trucks, vans and crossovers,” said Ed Peper, U.S. vice president of GM Fleet and Commercial Sales. “This addition helps our dealers satisfy their commercial customers’ needs all in one place.

The new trucks will be offered in regular-cab and crew-cab body styles. A General Motors’ sourced 6.0L V-8 gas engine and six-speed automatic transmission, or Isuzu-sourced 3.0L and 5.2L turbo-diesel engines will be available, depending on the model. The gas-powered models will be assembled in the United States in Charlotte, Mich.

Along with the Isuzu-badged versions, the Chevrolet models will be the only low cab forward trucks in the North American market to offer a gas-powered powertrain. Additional features include:

Excellent visibility and maneuverability – especially in urban environments.
Easy driver entry and exit.
Chassis lengths ranging from 109 inches to 212 inches.
Compatibility with a variety of body types, including refrigerated box, stake/flat bed and service bodies.
Easy-access engine compartment with 45-degree-tilting cab.
Additional features and specifications will be available closer to the start of production.

In addition to the new low cab forward trucks, Chevrolet’s fleet and commercial choices include the full-size Silverado lineup, the Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD full-size chassis cab models and the midsize Colorado, which offers a box-delete option, as well as the City Express small van and Express range of full-size vans.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling around 4.8 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

DETROIT – To help the National Corvette Museum recover from the massive sinkhole that opened under the facility this week, Chevrolet will oversee restoration of the Corvettes damaged. General Motors Design in Warren, Mich., will lead the project.

“The vehicles at the National Corvette Museum are some of the most significant in automotive history,” said Mark Reuss, executive vice president of General Motors Global Product Development. “There can only be one 1-millionth Corvette ever built. We want to ensure as many of the damaged cars are restored as possible so fans from around the world can enjoy them when the Museum reopens.”

Ed Welburn, vice president of GM Global Design, will oversee the restoration.

When the cars are recovered, they will be shipped to the Mechanical Assembly facility, a small specialty shop within GM Design, where the best restoration approach will be determined. Mechanical Assembly has been part of GM Design since the 1930s, and today maintains and restores many of the vehicles in the GM Heritage Collection and GM’s historic concept cars.

The National Corvette Museum is independently owned, and supported solely by charitable donations from enthusiasts. It is currently accepting donations on its website to assist in refurbishing the facility. Donations are tax-deductible.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.gm.com

DETROIT — The holiday season is upon us and for many that includes a fun-filled trip with family or friends to find the perfect holiday tree. But before your tree-hunting adventure begins, it’s important to be prepared. A recently published AAA survey estimates that in the past three years 20 million Americans did not properly secure their trees to their vehicles, which may lead to accidents on the road.

To help get your tree home safely, check out the following tips from Chevrolet engineers for transporting a tree in or on top of a vehicle:

Dress warmly, wear gloves and bring a piece of cardboard to kneel on if you’re cutting your tree down.
If you’re transporting the tree inside your vehicle, make sure to lay down a tarp to keep your car clean. If you’re transporting the tree on top of your vehicle, make sure you have cross-rails installed so you don’t damage the paint.
Make sure the tree is tightly bound with netting or rope before tying it to the top of the vehicle.
Place the stump end of the tree toward the front of the car to reduce aerodynamic drag and ensure a safe drive home.
Lay your tree directly overtop the cross rails, loop twine over and around it and repeat to cinch it with a figure-eight motion to secure your tree tightly to the vehicle. This will help protect the tree from moving around while you drive.
If possible, use secondary roads and avoid highways when driving with your tree on top of the vehicle for a safer ride home.
BONUS TIP: Choose a car such as the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse with standard OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility and 120-volt power outlet so you can take the holiday party with you wherever you travel!
ABOUT CHEVROLET
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

DETROIT – Chevrolet is investing in clean energy efficiency initiatives of U.S. colleges and universities through its voluntary carbon-reduction initiative. The brand helped develop a formula where campuses can earn money for certain upgrades that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This marks the first time college campuses can use carbon performance methodologies to make money via greenhouse gas reductions that result from energy efficiency. As carbon emissions continue to contribute to the warming of the earth, such funding enables universities to reduce their impact and save money on utility bills while engaging and educating students in their efforts. The funding opportunity is timely given that 675 campuses have pledged to reduce their carbon emissions.

“Historically, campuses purchased other organizations’ carbon credits to help achieve carbon neutrality,” said Eban Goodstein, director of Bard College’s Center for Environmental Policy in New York. “Now they are earning revenues for the carbon reductions achieved right on their own sites, where the long-term clean energy benefits lie for their community.”

Campuses are increasingly pursuing aggressive clean energy efficiency efforts from installing more efficient building equipment to using renewable energy to help power operations. With this initiative, Chevrolet will buy and retire carbon credits resulting from some campuses’ greenhouse gas reductions from either their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings or other campuswide energy-saving initiatives.

Chevrolet is dedicated to securing a cleaner energy future through efficient vehicles, responsible manufacturing and supporting community-based carbon-reduction projects.

“Electric cars like the Chevrolet Volt and Spark EV drawing electricity from a cleaner energy infrastructure is a win-win for our customers and the environment,” said David Tulauskas, GM director of sustainability. “The Chevrolet carbon-reduction initiative is about supporting the ingenious ways people are reducing their carbon emissions, like the efforts of leaders driving the higher education sustainability movement.”

For the last two years, Chevrolet has been the largest U.S. corporate buyer of voluntary carbon credits by volume, according to the nonprofit Forest Trends Ecosystem Marketplace. The brand has supported many projects, from helping a landfill heat a hospital with methane gas to helping truckers avoid idling their engines at rest stops. The initiative is part of the brand’s voluntary goal set in 2010 to prevent up to 8 million metric tons of carbon emissions from entering the earth’s atmosphere. That’s like the annual carbon reduction benefit of a mature forest the size of Yellowstone.

With this next phase, Chevrolet aims to spur even more carbon-reduction activities that benefit college campuses, their communities and job creation.

To develop the new methodologies, Chevrolet worked with an advisory team led by the Climate Neutral Business Network with support from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, the U.S. Green Building Council and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. The methodologies have been approved through the Verified Carbon Standard.

Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. and Valencia College in Orlando, Fla. are among the first to apply these new methodologies with pilot projects, confirming that funding such as Chevrolet’s is strategic to their other efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.

Chevrolet’s funds will be used for additional energy efficiency retrofits at Valencia. Ball State’s pilot involves selling some of the carbon reductions from installing the largest geothermal system at a U.S. college.

Said Robert Koester, professor of architecture and chair of the Ball State University Council on the Environment: “Without such third-party financing of this type, most colleges and universities would not be able to capitalize on the more significant investments needed to bring down their carbon load on the atmosphere.”

Visit Chevrolet’s website for more information about the carbon-reduction initiative.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.gm.com

The launch of Phantom in 2003 marked the beginning of the renaissance of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Since then, we have set a new benchmark for what a super-luxury car should be – unique, hand-crafted, beautiful and rare. Often imitated, Phantom has never been equalled and continues to be hailed as ‘The Best Car in the World’ by our customers and media alike.

Twelve years later, after the introduction of successful new models like Ghost and Wraith, Rolls-Royce stands proudly at the pinnacle of British luxury manufacturing, confirming our custodianship of this precious marque. Now we have reached another seminal moment in Rolls-Royce’s 111-year journey.

Today we confirm that we are developing an all-new Rolls-Royce with exceptional presence, elegance and purpose:
•A car that offers the luxury of a Rolls-Royce in a vehicle that can cross any terrain
•A car that meets our customers’ highly mobile, contemporary lifestyle expectations
• A Rolls-Royce that is as much about the pioneering, adventurous spirit of Charles Rolls
as it is about Sir Henry Royce’s dedication to engineering and innovation
•A car that appropriately reflects Rolls-Royce’s brand promise of effortless luxury
•A high-bodied car, with an all-new aluminium architecture
•A unique new motor car worthy of carrying the Spirit of Ecstasy into the future

This new Rolls-Royce will be Effortless … Everywhere.
Many discerning customers have urged us to develop this new car – and we have listened. At Rolls-Royce Motor Cars we are uniquely focused on the desires of our customers and are driven by our own thirst to innovate. So we challenged our engineers and design team, led by Director of Design Giles Taylor, to create a different and exceptional new car.

This car will embody all the values and capabilities that drove our two Founding Fathers to secure Rolls-Royce’s reputation, early last century, by taking top honours in rigorous overland adventures such as the Scottish Reliability Trials, the London to Edinburgh event and the Alpine Trials.

Rolls-Royces conveyed pioneers and adventurers like Lawrence of Arabia across the vastness of unexplored deserts and over mountain ranges. In other parts of the world including Australia, India and the Americas, Rolls-Royces carried their owners over challenging terrain with absolute reliability and comfort.

History sets our precedent and our future calls us to action.
This new journey begins now. We will take our time in developing and perfecting this new concept in luxury. We will include our customers, enthusiasts and media along the way and will keep you informed of our progress. Until then, rest assured, we are creating a motor car in the greatest traditions of our marque. Sir Henry Royce famously said: “When it does not exist, design it”.

GUANGZHOU, China, Aug. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — On July 9, 2021, GAC Group officially announced an exciting joint project with tech giant Huawei: the two firms will work together to develop a “smart SUV”, aiming to hit the market in mass production by the end of 2023.

The SUV will be the first joint product of the two enterprises. A medium- to large-size, pure electric SUV, the vision behind the car is one of futuristic, powerful and efficient technology, that will bring exciting new energy capabilities and Level 4 autonomous driving to buyers.

Chinese Giants GAC and Huawei Will Work Together to Develop a Smart SUV
Chinese Giants GAC and Huawei Will Work Together to Develop a Smart SUV
GAC Group embraces and encourages extensive technological innovation in its vehicles, and Huawei is a global leader in many types of technology. This strategic cooperation will allow them to build a new generation of intelligent vehicles and digital platforms. This SUV and multiple other future models will utilize GAC’s GEP.30 chassis platform and Huawei’s CCA (Computing and Communication Architecture), as well as carrying Huawei’s full stack of intelligent vehicle solutions.

Since signing a strategic cooperation agreement in 2017, GAC and Huawei have worked together in the fields of intelligent connected electric vehicle technology.

In September 2020 in Guangzhou, the two firms signed an agreement to further deepen cooperation, with a focus on computing and communication architecture in accordance of the development trend towards software-heavy vehicles.

In the last few years, GAC has seen significant success in realizing vehicle electrification and in various areas of new energy technology. GAC Group is highly committed to research and development, demonstrated by the billions of yuan funneled into the GAC R&D Centers across the world.

The global market for electric vehicles is only growing. Data predicts that the EV global market will expand almost fivefold between 2016 and 2027; an annual increase of 20%. GAC Group is positioned to fully embrace this trend towards creating cleaner, greener, better cars, with GAC MOTOR aiming to produce an entirely electrified lineup of vehicles by 2025.

This rapid growth demonstrates a new demand in the automobile market for intelligent cars, and for Chinese craftsmanship.

With new technologies, new processes and new materials, as well as the use of intelligent manufacturing and comprehensively improved production capacity, GAC and Huawei aim to produce eight models and multiple series of cutting edge electric vehicles, that provide a new driving experience at ever lower costs.

SOURCE GAC MOTOR

Auburn Hills, Mich. – Fuel savings and emissions reductions attributed to TorqueFlite eight-speed transmissions are adding up to substantial gains for Chrysler Group customers.

The advanced-technology automatics – first of their kind ever made available to mainstream-brand customers – now are powering more than one million vehicles, worldwide. And their combined effect is staggering.

Over their lifetimes, vehicles equipped with TorqueFlite eight-speed transmissions are projected to save their owners more than 700 million gallons of fuel, compared with their predecessors that featured five- or six-speed automatics. That quantity of gasoline is worth approximately $2.5 billion at the pump, based on current fuel-price forecasts.

This will also reduce combined CO2 emissions by more than six million metric tonnes.

TorqueFlite eight-speed transmissions in model-year 2014 vehicles also contribute to 19 Chrysler Group fuel-economy or driving-range benchmarks across four vehicle segments.

“This is precisely the kind of impact we targeted with the TorqueFlite program,” says Jeffrey Lux, Vice President and Head of Transmission Powertrain. “And we fully expect this momentum to continue as we expand availability.”

Starting in model-year 2015, the TorqueFlite 8HP70 transmission can be paired with HEMI®-equipped Dodge Chargers, Challengers and Challenger SRTs.

When the TorqueFlite 8HP45/845RE made its debut in model-year 2012 as the world’s first eight-speed available outside the luxury market, the transmission was mated exclusively to Chrysler Group’s award-winning 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 in the Charger and Chrysler 300 lineups.

Since then, the TorqueFlite 845RE and 8HP70 have migrated, respectively, to Pentastar- and HEMI-powered versions of the Dodge Durango, Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee lineups. The 8HP70 also serves EcoDiesel versions of the 1500 and Grand Cherokee.

With the introduction of the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, the TorqueFlite transmission family adds its third member – the 8HP90 high-performance automatic that affords greater torque capacity than any eight-speed previously offered by Chrysler Group.

Depending on the application, a TorqueFlite transmission can account for fuel-economy improvements of up to nine percent, compared with a more conventional automatic.

“The TorqueFlite’s wide 7.03 ratio spread is the reason it can deliver such superior performance,” Lux says. “This enables engines to operate at peak efficiency in a broader range of driving conditions.”

The TorqueFlite family shares these gear ratios:

4.71
3.14
2.10
1.67
1.29
1.00
0.84
0.67
Particularly close from fifth through eighth, the gear ratios also improve refinement by accommodating smoother shifts. In addition, the 4.71 first-gear ratio contributes to the kind of quick throttle response customers want and enjoy.

Fully electronic, the TorqueFlite family’s software adapts the transmission’s shift patterns to driver behavior and driving conditions such as:

longitudinal and lateral acceleration
grade steepness
temperature
electronic stability control activation
The TorqueFlite’s design inherently contributes to efficiency. Paired with the 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 in the 2015 Dodge Challenger, it weighs just four lbs. (1.8 kg) more than the five-speed gearbox it replaces while contributing to a fuel-economy gain in the range of five percent.

Internally, the transmission features four gear sets and five shift elements consisting of multi-disc clutches and brakes. Only two shift elements are open at one time, which reduces drag losses stemming from the rotation of multiple parts.

Lower viscosity transmission fluid is used to improve operating efficiency and fuel economy, especially during cold environments or vehicle start-up. The TorqueFlite also is “fill-for-life,” never requiring oil changes, when subjected to normal driving conditions.

In the Ram 1500, TorqueFlite function benefits further from a thermal management system that quickly raises engine and transmission fluid temperature. This improves fuel efficiency by 1.7 percent by reducing the parasitic losses that occur when engine oil and transmission fluid are in their natural, lower-viscosity states.

Model-year 2014 benchmarks to which TorqueFlite technology contributes are:

Best-in-class city fuel economy, 2WD full-sized pickups (20 mpg; Ram 1500)
Best-in-class highway fuel economy, 2WD full-sized pickups (28 mpg; Ram 1500)
Best-in-class combined fuel economy, 2WD full-sized pickups (23 mpg; Ram 1500)
Best-in-class city fuel economy, 4WD full-sized pickups (19 mpg; Ram 1500)
Best-in-class highway fuel economy, 4WD full-sized pickups (27 mpg; Ram 1500)
Best-in-class combined fuel economy, 4WD full-sized pickups (22 mpg; Ram 1500)
Best-in-class city fuel economy, 2WD mid-size SUVs, non-hybrid (22 mpg; Jeep Grand Cherokee)
Best-in-class highway fuel economy, 2WD mid-size SUVs (30 mpg; Jeep Grand Cherokee)
Best-in-class combined fuel economy, 2WD mid-size SUVs, non-hybrid (25 mpg; Jeep Grand Cherokee)
Best-in-class driving range, mid-size SUV (730+ miles; Jeep Grand Cherokee)
Best-in-class driving range, full-size SUV with V-6 (600+ miles; Dodge Durango, full-size SUV)
Best-in-class driving range, gasoline-powered mid-size SUV (600+ miles; Jeep Grand Cherokee)
Best-in-class highway fuel economy, full-size RWD sedan with V-6 (31 mpg highway; Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300)
Best-in-class highway fuel economy, full-size AWD sedan with V-6 (27 mpg city; Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300)
Unsurpassed* city fuel economy, full-size AWD sedan with V-6 (18 mpg city; Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300)
Unsurpassed* combined fuel economy, full-size RWD sedan with V-6 (23 mpg; Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300)
Unsurpassed* combined fuel economy, full-size AWD sedan with V-6 (21 mpg; Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300)
Unsurpassed* city fuel economy, full-size RWD sedan with V-6 (19 mpg; Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300)
Unsurpassed* city fuel economy, full-size AWD sedan with V-6 (18 mpg; Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300)
The TorqueFlite 845RE is produced under license from ZF Friedrichshafen AG at Chrysler Group’s manufacturing complex in Kokomo, IN. The 8HP70 and 8HP90, respectively, are produced at ZF’s plants in Gray Court, SC, and Saarbrucken, Germany.

Chrysler Group Powertrain
Development of advanced-technology powertrains has been a primary focus of Chrysler Group since the Company was established in 2009. To date, Chrysler Group’s investment in powertrain programs is approaching $2.5 billion – nearly half of its total manufacturing outlay. From model-year 2011 to the present, Chrysler Group has introduced 18 new engines, 15 new transmissions and the battery-electric drive system featured in the acclaimed Fiat 500e all-electric vehicle.

This news is coutesy of www.chryslergroupllc.com

GREENVILLE, S.C.— Toyota Technical Center (TTC), the North American Research and Development arm of Toyota Motor Corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is proud to sponsor the sixth generation innovative Deep Orange program, a vehicle prototype designed and conceived by automotive engineering students at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) in partnership with the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Deep Orange 6 is hands-on project-based learning initiative. CU-ICAR graduate automotive engineering students have the opportunity to create and manufacture a new vehicle prototype during their master’s degree study.

“The students’ task is to develop a utility/activity vehicle concept that not only expands Toyota’s model range, but also addresses important issues such as creating desirability and relevance among youth consumers,” said Paul Venhovens, BMW Endowed Chair in automotive systems integration at CU-ICAR, leads the Deep Orange program. “Throughout this process, Clemson students work directly with automotive OEMs, suppliers and entrepreneurs to develop and implement novel ideas”.

“Innovation is a high priority for Toyota and this project is an excellent opportunity to involve the engineers of tomorrow in some of the key challenges of today,” said Jeff Makarewicz, VP of the TTC Corporate Strategy Office. “We are honored to partner with Clemson and look forward to seeing their fresh and innovative ideas”.

###
About Clemson

Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research
The Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research is an advanced-technology research campus where academia, industry and government organizations collaborate to create a global venue for the automotive industry. The 250-acre campus in Greenville, S.C., is composed of five technology neighborhoods, each designed uniquely for optimizing an innovative and collaborative environment. CU-ICAR is home to Clemson’s department of automotive engineering, which offers master’s and Ph.D. programs and is conducting leading-edge applied research driven by industry needs.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world’s top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we’ve built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants and directly employ nearly 40,000 people. Our 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.5 million cars and trucks in 2013 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.

Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment. As part of this commitment, we share the company’s extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.toyota.com

AUGUSTA, Ga., — Club Car today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Garia A/S (“Garia”), a Denmark-based manufacturer of electric low-speed vehicles for the utility, consumer and golf markets, from Lars Larsen Group. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.

Garia, founded in 2005, is best known as an innovator of luxury golf and leisure cars that feature elevated performance and distinctive Scandanavian design. The company launched Garia Utility in 2015, a growing line of compact vehicles for utility applications, including: public sector (municipalities, hospitals, universities, parks), facility management (industrial sites, hotels, resorts), leisure and outdoor (zoos, amusement parks, forestry and agriculture), and last-mile delivery (mail, packages, food delivery).

The acquisition also includes Melex, which Garia acquired in November 2021 to accelerate its growth in the utility space. Melex is a manufacturer of lightweight utility vehicles based in Poland and offers an array of street and non-street legal products, including multi-passenger and compact cargo utility vehicles.

“We have great respect for Garia and Melex, which design and build some of the most impressive electric golf, leisure and compact utility vehicles in the world,” said Mark Wagner, president of Club Car. “We are excited to welcome their teams to the Club Car family.

“Our product lines complement each other nicely with very little overlap,” he added. “Which is great news for our dealers and customers in Europe and the United States who will have access to a wider range of zero-emission, on and off-road vehicles at a greater variety of price points.”

Garia’s golf and consumer cars are primarily luxury products geared toward the high end of their respective markets. Garia and Melex’s utility products are mostly model types that Club Car doesn’t currently manufacture.

“Club Car is the perfect partner and will immediately open new opportunities for growth across our entire product portfolio,” said Garia CEO Jakob Holstein. “Club Car’s extensive dealer network, combined with the operational benefits we can achieve with substantially increased scale, will help us take our brands to a new level.”

Club Car is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity, which acquired the business in 2021.

“Around the world demand for sustainable transportation solutions continues to grow,” said Platinum Equity Partner Jacob Kotzubei. “The addition of Garia and Melex’s all-electric fleets will strenthen Club Car’s ability to meet that demand globally, and in the European utility market in particular, where governments and businesses are modernizing and electrifying their vehicle fleets.”

The Garia and Melex transaction is Club Car’s first add-on acquisition under Platinum Equity’s ownership.

“A big part of our ambition for Club Car is to expand its addressable market geographically and into new product categories,” said Platinum Equity Managing Director Matthew Louie. “This acquisition is an important step in delivering on that strategy. We will continue seeking more opportunities to grow the business organically and through additional acquisitions.”

Morgan Lewis, Bech-Bruun, and Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak are serving as legal counsel and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is providing debt financing counsel to Club Car and Platinum Equity on the Garia acquisition. Goldman Sachs is leading the debt financing on the transaction.

About Club Car
With over 60 years of experience of innovation and design in producing small-wheel vehicles, Club Car is a leading manufacturer of gas and electric golf, utility and personal transportation vehicles. Founded in 1958, the Club Car product portfolio has grown to include much more than golf cars, now encompassing vehicles for commercial and consumer markets, built with an uncompromised desire for superior performance. As an industry leader in electrification and sustainability, Club Car is proud to be on the forefront of environmentally responsible Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) technologies. For more information, visit www.clubcar.com.

About Garia
Garia was founded in 2005 by Anders Lynge with the vision of introducing a paradigm shift for golf and leisure vehicles by producing the world’s first premium vehicles in their segments. In 2014, with almost ten years of experience in the luxury electric vehicle market, Garia embarked on an entirely new journey: the Garia Utility. A compact electric utility vehicle that combines reliability, ergonomics and zero emissions with comfort, functionality and thoughtful design. Made of high-quality European components, the Garia Utility is one of a kind. Garia is privately held by Lars Larsen Group and headquartered in Denmark with a subsidiary in the U.S. Learn more about the Garia Utility at gariautility.com.

About Melex
Melex was founded in 1970 as a manufacturer of electric golf and lightweight utility vehicles in Mielec, Poland. Melex is a versatile manufacturer of electric vehicles and offers over 100 different models for almost any niche in the segment. From 250kg and up to 1,6 tons of cargo, or 2-8 passengers as service vehicles for factories, logistic centers, supermarkets, municipalities, tourism, airports etc., there is a Melex for any usage. Learn more about Melex at melex.com.pl

About Platinum Equity
Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with more than $25 billion of assets under management and a portfolio of approximately 50 operating companies that serve customers around the world. The firm is currently investing from Platinum Equity Capital Partners V, a $10 billion global buyout fund, and Platinum Equity Small Cap Fund, a $1.5 billion buyout fund focused on investment opportunities in the lower middle market. Platinum Equity specializes in mergers, acquisitions and operations – a trademarked strategy it calls M&A&O® – acquiring and operating companies in a broad range of business markets, including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services, media and entertainment, technology, telecommunications and other industries. Over the past 26 years Platinum Equity has completed more than 300 acquisitions.

Media Contacts:
Dan Whelan, Platinum Equity
(310) 282-9202
dwhelan@platinumequity.com

Tammy Cillo, Club Car
(908) 256-4586
tamatha.cillo@irco.com

SOURCE Platinum Equity

DETROIT — The 2017 Cruze Diesel Sedan offers up to an EPA-estimated highway mileage of 52 mpg — the highest highway fuel economy of any non-hybrid/non-EV in America. Based upon the EPA highway estimate, Cruze Diesel with the six-speed manual transmission has an estimated range of up to 702 highway miles on one tank of diesel fuel.

“Chevrolet is dedicated to offering customers a wide range of propulsion options. We know there are customers looking for the right combination of fuel efficiency, driving dynamics, fuel type and more. With the EPA-estimated 52-mpg highway Cruze Diesel Sedan, they can get it all,” said Steven Majoros, director of Chevrolet Marketing.

The 2017 Cruze Diesel Sedan features a new Ecotec 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine offering an SAE-certified 137 horsepower (102 kW) and 240 lb-ft of torque (325 Nm). Cruze Diesel passed all stringent U.S. environmental standards and validation, including Tier 3 Bin 125 emissions standards.

Buyers will be able to option their Cruze Diesel Sedans with either a standard six-speed manual or a new, optional Hydra-Matic nine-speed automatic transmission that includes fuel-saving stop/start technology.

In addition to its segment-leading EPA-estimated 52 mpg highway fuel economy, Cruze Diesel with the six-speed manual returns an EPA-estimated city mileage of 30 mpg, resulting in 37 mpg combined. Cruze Diesel with the nine-speed automatic achieves an EPA-estimated highway economy of up to 47 mpg and 31 city mpg, which results in 37 mpg combined.

A suite of connectivity features complements the Cruze Diesel Sedan’s inherent efficiency. These include available OnStar with 4G LTE connectivity and built-in Wi-Fi hotspot and available Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility through Chevrolet MyLink.*

Pricing for 2017 Cruze Diesel Sedan starts at $24,670 including $875 destination charge. Cruze Diesel Hatch will follow Cruze Diesel Sedan later this year for the 2018 model year.

*Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are products of Apple and Google and their terms and privacy statements apply. Requires a compatible mobile device, active OnStar service and data plan. 4G LTE service available in select markets. Visit onstar.com for coverage map, details and system limitations. Data plans provided by AT&T.

ABOUT CHEVROLET
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Arlington, VA
The following statement is attributed to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, on U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao’s announcement of AV 4.0 at CES 2020:

“CES is the showplace for vehicle tech innovation, and we’re thrilled Secretary Chao announced AV 4.0 on our keynote stage. Self-driving technology is the future of mobility—making our roads safer and improving mobility for seniors and the disabled.

“Our industry must continue to work with government to ensure the success and adoption of self-driving vehicles. The partnership between the White House and U.S. Department of Transportation is proof government is prioritizing the adoption of self-driving technology. We look forward to our continued work together on policies that enable this technology to thrive.”

AV 4.0, a set of guiding policy principles for self-driving technology, is a first-ever partnership between the Department of Transportation and the White House.

CES 2020 provides access to the most transformative tech across various marketplaces, such as 5G, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, smart home, smart cities, vehicles, digital health and more. Industry leaders and rising stars will come together to pioneer future innovation driving the ever-evolving tech industry. CES was named one of USA Today’s 10 Best Auto Shows and nine out of the ten top global auto suppliers are represented at the show. Visit CES.tech to learn more.

Munich/Stuttgart. The BMW Group and Daimler AG are planning the next steps for their joint mobility company, following approval by the responsible competition authorities. The basis for this is the approval of the US competition authorities, which was received on Tuesday, December 18, 2018. This means that all antitrust authorities involved have given the green light for the new joint venture, which is owned in equal parts by the BMW Group and Daimler AG.

The joint venture will focus on ensuring the personal freedom of customers in the field of urban mobility. Geared towards this vision of future urban mobility, a new mobility offering will be created that is easy to access, intuitive and focused on the needs of the user. On their urban journey, customers will move through a seamlessly connected and sustainable ecosystem that combines CarSharing, Ride-Hailing, Parking, Charging and Multimodality from a single source and is available with just a few taps. The idea is to create the most attractive, most comprehensive mobility solution for a better life in our connected world.

Now that the approval of the competition authorities has been received, the goal is to close this transaction by January 31, 2019.

Once this major transaction closes, the new mobility company will present next steps in the first quarter of 2019, in conjunction with the BMW Group and Daimler AG.

The equally-owned joint venture will comprise the following activities and services:

Multimodal and on-demand mobility with moovel and ReachNow:
The well over six million users will benefit from intelligent and seamless connectivity between different mobility offerings, such as carsharing, bike rental, taxis and public transport, including booking and payment. The multimodal platform will also offer possible solutions for the needs of urban private transport, including providing cars as a service.

2) CarSharing with Car2Go and DriveNow:
Car2Go and DriveNow operate a total of 20,000 vehicles in 30 major international cities. Carsharing enables better utilisation of vehicles and thus helps reduce the total number of vehicles in cities. More than four million customers already use these carsharing services.

3) Ride-Hailing with mytaxi, Chauffeur Privé, Clever Taxi and Beat:
A total of 15.9 million customers and around 250,000 drivers already use the services of mytaxi, Chauffeur Privé, Clever Taxi (all in Europe) and Beat (South America) – making Intelligent Apps GmbH one of the leading ride-hailing providers in Europe and South America. Innovative offers such as mytaximatch, which allows people who do not know each other to share a taxi at the tap of a finger, also make an important contribution to reducing inner-city traffic.

4) Parking with ParkNow and Parkmobile Group/Parkmobile LLC:
Ticketless, cashless on-street parking or help reserving and paying for off-street parking in a garage: Parkmobile already reaches a total of more than 27 million customers in Europe and North America and offers digital parking solutions in over 1,100 cities. Innovative digital parking services reduce the time and amount of driving involved in finding a parking space. This reduces traffic significantly, as cars searching for parking spaces currently account for around 30% of road traffic.

5) Charging with ChargeNow and Digital Charging Solutions:
Easy access (incl. location, charging and payment) to the world’s largest network of public charging stations. Combined with parking privileges in cities, this will support the expansion of electromobility, by helping people integrate this drive technology more easily into their mobility needs.

NINGDE, China and STUTTGART, Germany, May 20, 2021 — Today, commercial vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck AG and lithium-ion battery manufacturer and developer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) – both global leaders in their fields – announced the intensification of their existing partnership based on their shared vision of CO2-neutral electrified trucking. CATL will be the supplier of lithium-ion battery packs for the Mercedes-Benz eActros LongHaul battery-electric truck, which is planned to be ready for series production in 2024. The supply will go beyond 2030. The batteries will combine high energy density with ultra-long cycle life as well as fast-charging ability to meet the unique requirements of battery-electric long-haul trucks. In addition, the companies intend to jointly design and develop even more advanced next-generation battery cells and packs for truck specific applications, with a focus on high modularity and scalability in order to support different truck applications and flexible compatibility with future e-truck models.

In 2019, Daimler Truck AG and CATL entered into a global lithium-ion battery cell modules supply agreement for electric series trucks including the Mercedes-Benz eActros, the Freightliner eCascadia and eM2. In September 2020, Daimler Truck AG announced the eActros LongHaul, which will have a range of about 500 kilometres for energy-efficient transport on plannable long-haul routes.

Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG and Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG: “Partnerships are vital for us to deliver on our commitment to the Paris Agreement and our ultimate goal of achieving CO2-neutral transport on the roads, on which we are working at full speed. Expanding and strengthening our strong collaboration with CATL will play a key role as we accelerate our electrification activities and lead the way to zero emissions in the truck industry. We will launch a wide range of customer-oriented, innovative series-produced electric trucks from 2021 onwards.”

Dr. Robin Zeng, Founder, Chairman and CEO of CATL: “We are very happy to strengthen the existing partnership with Daimler Truck AG based on our shared vision in e-mobility. With CATL’s innovative technology in EV batteries and Daimler Truck’s deep expertise in the heavy truck industry, we believe our strong global partnership will further enhance Daimler Truck AG’s market position on the e-mobility stage and accelerate to drive towards carbon neutrality.”

CATL: promoting carbon neutrality through innovative battery solutions

Driven by the goal of CO2 neutrality, CATL aims to realize fossil fuel replacement in stationary and mobile energy systems with highly efficient electrical power systems that are generated through advanced batteries and renewable energy, and promote the integrated innovation of market applications with electrification and intelligentization. Expanding its partnership with Daimler Truck AG is an important milestone in this journey and unlocks new opportunities to accelerate global commercial vehicle electrification with CATL clean energy solutions.

Making continuous innovations across the chemistry structure system, structure system, extreme manufacturing and business model, CATL is providing the most cutting-edge and valuable products to its customers and consumers. Its unique battery solutions for commercial vehicles featuring an LFP chemistry system with zero fading within 1500 cycles and innovative cell-to-pack (CTP) technology ensure that vehicle batteries have high-energy density, ultra-long cycle lives, high reliability and great cost efficiency.

According to SNE Research, CATL’s 2020 EV battery consumption volume ranks No.1 in the world for the fourth consecutive year, 32% of which is contributed by commercial vehicle applications. The data source also shows that until March 2021, global sales of trucks and buses equipped with CATL EV batteries reached over 343,000, making CATL the largest EV battery supplier in the commercial vehicle market.

About Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) is a leader in the global lithium-ion battery industry, covering R&D, production and sales of battery systems for new energy vehicles and energy storage systems. In 2020, CATL ranked No.1 globally in terms of EV battery consumption volume for four consecutive years, according to SNE Research.

Headquartered in Ningde, China, CATL has battery production bases domestically in Ningde (Fujian Province), Liyang (Jiangsu Province), Xining (Qinghai Province), Yibin (Sichuan Province), and Zhaoqing (Guangdong Province). Now CATL is expanding globally, and has opened overseas subsidiaries in Munich (Germany), Paris (France), Yokohama (Japan), and Detroit (USA). Its European production base in Erfurt, Germany, is currently under construction. The company (300750.SZ) went public in 2018.
For more information, please visit http://www.catl.com.

About Daimler Truck AG

The Daimler Truck AG is one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, with more than 35 primary locations around the world and approximately 100,000 employees. Daimler Truck AG is pursuing a sustainable corporate strategy and aims to offer only new vehicles that are CO2-neutral in driving operation (“tank-to-wheel”) in Europe, Japan, and North America by 2039. As early as 2022, Daimler Truck AG’s vehicle portfolio will include series-produced vehicles with battery-electric drive systems in the main sales regions Europe, the United States, and Japan. By 2027, Daimler Truck AG intends to supplement its portfolio by adding series-produced hydrogen-based fuel-cell vehicles. With hundreds of vehicles in use with customers, Daimler Truck AG has already gained comprehensive, practice-oriented expertise with electric vehicles, and has recorded a total of well over ten million kilometres driven by battery-electric test and series-produced trucks and buses with customers worldwide.

SOURCE CATL

CONTACT: Will Lee: +86 15814088881, wei.li@catl.com, Elaine Huang +86 19959359083, HuangYiL@catl.com

Newbury Park, CA — Designworks, a BMW Group company, announced today a collaboration with leading pleasure boat manufacturer, Sea Ray, to develop a new sleek, sophisticated design language for the brand.  The first new, redesigned model – the all-new Sundancer 370 Outboard – will be uveiled during a live Facebook event today at 12:00 p.m. EST.  The official release of this new product is in conjunction with the 45^th anniversary of the Sundancer series.

“Sea Ray has a rich history as a leading boat manufacturer for more than 60 years,” said Johannes Lampela, Director of Industrial Design at Designworks. “The Sea Ray look is very recognizable, and our goal working together was to further strengthen that design DNA by bringing forward the most iconic features through a modern design execution. What emerged is a modern yet classic aesthetic that is being used to inspire the next generation of Sea Ray boats.”

“Our goal was to define the foundation for bold and pure design expression,” said Charlie Foss, Sea Ray Design Director. “Working together with Designworks, we were able to produce a fresh set of design principles that pay homage to our brand’s past while indicating the future, resulting in a look that is undeniably Sea Ray. An output of the collaboration was the definition of four key design characteristics to inform Sea Ray models moving forward: sleek, confident, athletic, and distinctive.”

Sleekness is recognized through a long, lean, and naturally flowing s-sheer line integrated into the side of the boat. Confidence is evident through a strong character jaw line, and athleticism is conveyed with purposeful yet beautiful angles and surfaces illustrating power and movement. Finally, distinctiveness is imparted through the characteristic Sea Ray hull-side emblem and center line that draws the eye in and creates a feeling of speed.

Next to consulting clients in many mobility related industries, Designworks works across the portfolio of the BMW Group from luxury and premium cars to motorcycles and digital experiences. The Designworks and Sea Ray team worked through a rigorous process of multiple workshops and collaboration sessions, diving deep into consumer insights, design trends and brand heritage.

“Automotive-inspired design is part of the Sea Ray history, dating back to collaboration with Harley Earl Associates in the early 1960s. It was important that we partnered with a group that has a comprehensive understanding of future mobility and the ability to develop concepts with a view to future contexts,” said Foss.

Sea Ray’s new design language will be unveiled during a virtual reveal of the Sundancer 370 on Facebook, today at 12:00 p.m. EST. Initially, the new model is available for order in North America, with international availability timing to follow.

Click here to RSVP for the live virtual reveal of the Sundancer 370 Outboard. For an early glimpse of the new Sundancer 370 design, click here .  

For more information about Designworks, visit BMWGroupDesignworks.com . For more information about Sea Ray, and to view the complete lineup, visit SeaRay.com .

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About Designworks

Designworks, a BMW Group Company is both, the innovation studio for the BMW Group and a global creative consultancy. The teams in the studios in Los Angeles, Munich and Shanghai work at the intersection of design, technology and innovation to unlock brand potentials and foster business growth for companies worldwide. Designworks leverages the power of BMW Group’s culture of innovation and cutting edge design to advance the goals of its external clients, including John Deere, Brunswick, Siemens, Corsair, HP, and Microsoft, whilst bringing outside perspectives and impulses to the BMW Group. www.bmwgroupdesignworks.com

About Sea Ray

Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., Sea Ray is the world’s leading creator of superior quality pleasure boats. For more than 60 years, Sea Ray has pushed the limits of performance and craftsmanship to elevate the boating experience. Each Sea Ray is designed to make every moment exceptional, supporting boaters’ unique lifestyles with a customized balance of unparalleled comfort and performance and world-class technology throughout. Learn more about the Sea Ray Experience at SeaRay.com .

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LAS VEGAS – January 8, 2019 – In Las Vegas today, BMW Group subsidiary Designworks unveiled a new camper concept and virtual reality experience, in partnership with The North Face, to imagine the future of protection from the elements.

The lightweight camper concept and virtual experience were designed by Designworks to showcase a new fabric innovation from The North Face called FUTURELIGHT™, which uses Nanospinning technology to create the world’s most advanced, breathable, waterproof material.

“We combined both physical and digital worlds to showcase this material, ensuring the holistic vision of the brand was clearly communicated, while giving people a real ‘hands-on’ experience,” said Laura Robin, Designworks LA Studio Director. “Thinking about extreme performance in new and unexpected ways from our experience of working across multiple industries, helped us to provide consumers with a unique and never before seen insight into the very heart of the material and its key attributes.”

The FUTURELIGHT camper was inspired by the 2008 BMW GINA Light Visionary Model concept car. Like the GINA Concept, the FUTURELIGHT™ Camper is made of a fabric outer shell, consisting of a flexible material stretched over an iconic geodesic dome to demonstrate the potential uses of FUTURELIGHT™ fabric beyond just apparel.

The revolutionary Nanospinning process used to create FUTURELIGHT™, has allowed the The North Face designers to add air permeability into the membrane of a fabric for the first time. The process creates nano-sized holes, allowing for incredible porosity while still maintaining total waterproofness, letting air move through the material and provide more venting than ever before.
The FUTURELIGHT™ Camper, is on display during the global consumer electronics tradeshow, by invite-only Jan. 7 – Jan. 11 in Las Vegas. FUTURELIGHT™ will first become available to consumers in The North Face Fall 2019 product line and will be featured across the brand’s pinnacle performance collections.

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About Designworks, a BMW Group Company
Designworks, a BMW Group Company, is a global creative consultancy offering services which foster innovation and business growth for companies worldwide. Using cross-industry knowledge and experience, its culture of innovation and future-focused approach catalyzes its passion for visionary design.

Designworks leverages the power of BMW Group’s culture of innovation and cutting edge design to advance the goals of its external clients, including John Deere, Virgin Hyperloop One, Siemens, Corsair, HP, Microsoft, Embraer and Singapore Airlines, whilst bringing outside perspectives and impulses to the BMW Group through knowledge and experience gained with client engagements.

DETROIT – Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac dealers in the United States delivered 269,056 vehicles in April 2015, up 6 percent year over year. Retail deliveries were up 5 percent, fleet deliveries were up 8 percent and commercial sales were the highest since March 2008.

“At GM, truck and crossover sales have been strong all year, thanks to our increasingly deep and broad product portfolio,” said Kurt McNeil, General Motors’ U.S. vice president of Sales Operations.

GM’s trucks and crossovers posted double-digit sales increases in April, up 13 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Thanks to new products, GM’s estimated share of the retail market for midsize pickups is now 31 percent calendar year to date, according to J.D. Power PIN. For small crossovers, it is 55 percent and for large SUVs it is 74 percent.

“Consumer and commercial customer demand for pickups and utility vehicles has been building since last fall, and that’s a clear sign that the slowdown in GDP growth during the winter months was caused by factors that are mostly transitory in nature,” McNeil said. “The auto industry continues to be on track to have its best sales year since 2006.”

Highlights vs. 2014 (except as noted)

Chevrolet

Chevrolet crossover deliveries were up 51 percent (excluding the fleet-only Captiva, which has been discontinued). Equinox was up 42 percent for its best April ever. Traverse, up 28 percent, also had its best April ever, and the all-new Trax is off to a strong start with 3,451 sales.
Chevrolet pickup sales totaled 52,988 units, up 24 percent. Silverado deliveries were up 8 percent and the all-new Colorado midsize pickup had its best month since launch, with 7,010 deliveries. The Colorado has now been the industry’s fastest-selling truck for three months in a row, with a “days to turn” of only 15 days.
Spark EV sales were a record 920 units, the Sonic was up 14 percent, the SS was up 6 percent and the Corvette Z06 is one of the industry’s fastest-selling car, with a “days to turn” of only 17 days.
Chevrolet is the industry’s fastest-growing truck brand so far this year and Chevrolet passenger car volumes have increased sequentially each month this year.
Cadillac

Cadillac deliveries in April were up 14 percent and the brand’s calendar-year-to-date sales are in line with 2014.
Escalade sales were up 144 percent. The SRX crossover saw a 41-percent increase and the XTS sedan was up 14 percent.
GMC

GMC had its best first-quarter sales since 2005, and followed that up with a 20-percent increase in April.
GMC pickup sales were up 19 percent, with Sierra up 5 percent and Canyon deliveries totaling 2,432 units. The Sierra and Canyon have the highest average transaction prices (ATPs) in their respective segments, according to PIN.
Denali penetration is at record levels, surpassing 23 percent of retail sales.
GMC’s crossover sales were up 25 percent, with Terrain up 13 percent and Acadia up 40 percent. Both vehicles had their best-ever April sales.
Buick

Buick Encore deliveries were up 29 percent, and sales have increased year over year for 16 consecutive months.
General Motors

Crossover deliveries were up 25 percent, with small crossover sales more than doubling to 9,000 units. April was GM’s best-ever month for crossover sales.
Combined van, SUV and pickup deliveries were up 13 percent, with pickup deliveries up 22 percent. Full-size pickups were up 7 percent and midsize pickup sales reached 9,442 units.
ATPs were approximately $34,750, up $880 per unit, according to PIN estimates. Calendar year to date, ATPs are up $1,580.
Incentive spending as a percentage of ATPs was 9.5 percent in April, according to PIN estimates. That is in line with March and down 0.6 percentage points year over year. Industry average spending was 9.2 percent of ATP.
Commercial deliveries were up 31 percent. Through April, commercial deliveries have grown year over year for 18 consecutive months. Large vans were up 64 percent and full-size pickups were up 42 percent.
GM estimates that the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate (SAAR) for light vehicles in April was 16.7 million units.
GM passenger car deliveries were down 12 percent in April, reflecting the segmentation shifts that began in the fall of 2014, as well as lower rental deliveries and incentive spending on an ATP basis that is considerably below the industry average. Chevrolet has the lowest passenger car incentives in the industry on an ATP basis compared to other full-line manufacturers.­

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world’s largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com

Hear that engine purr? We’ve come a long way from horse-and-buggy transportation. Now our horsepower is found under the hood, and Dow is helping keep our vehicles running stronger, safer and lighter with innovations that enhance your car from engine to trunk.

And who better to test and prove Dow’s technologies than some of the fastest drivers on Earth? Through a partnership with Richard Childress Racing (RCR), Dow is able to develop technologies that are really put to the test under the most extreme driving conditions available.

“Dow and RCR share a passion for innovation and technology,” said Joe Harlan, executive vice president for Dow. “Partnerships like this help us strengthen and enhance our customer collaboration, research and development, and engagement with consumers who are ultimately the deciding force behind new innovations for our brand owner customers.”

Driving Consumer Engagement
Dow recently launched the “Gaps and Tracks” sweepstakes to provide one grand prize winner the opportunity to meet Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet SS car, and participate as an honorary pit crew member during the night race in Bristol, Tennessee on August 23. To enter, fans must purchase a GREAT STUFF™ product online or at a local home improvement store and enter the product code at www.greatstuffsweepstakes.com1.

“Dow and RCR are companies that both pursue high performance solutions,” said Tim Lacey, Dow Building Solutions business director. “This sweepstakes is exciting because it encourages homeowners to improve their homes’ energy efficiency quickly and inexpensively, with a chance to be entered to win an awesome grand prize.”

Providing Customer Collaboration
The program with RCR also provides Dow tremendous opportunities to engage with customers and employees at events around races and appearances with products like Mycogen Seeds® in Dow AgroSciences.

Dow is one of the few companies with a global breeding and R&D seed trait development program, and the partnership with RCR enables Dow to connect with its dealer and grower customers. Dow sees every acre as an opportunity to help farmers grow their operation, and Mycogen® Seeds offers a wide portfolio of products that tackle the challenges crop growers face today.

“Mycogen Seeds has become one of America’s fastest-growing seed companies because of our commitment to excellence in technology and performance,” said Brian Barker, general manager for Mycogen Seeds. “We work closely with our dealer and grower customers to help them identify the possibilities that Mycogen and Dow AgroSciences products can deliver for every acre. The partnership between Dow and RCR will provide additional opportunities for us to build even stronger relationships with many of our customers and new prospects.”

Participating in Research & Development
For the 2014 season, RCR has adopted a new line of extreme performance lubricants powered by UCON Oil Soluble PAG (OSP) technology from Dow in its cars.

“Working with Dow, RCR evaluated a range of new lubrication technologies, selecting 75W-90 and 75W-140 synthetic gear lubricants and a premium grease to provide exceptional lubrication properties under the punishing conditions of a NASCAR race,” said Raymond Hudack, strategic marketing manager for lubricants at Dow. “RCR is able to achieve a higher level of lubricant performance that they are striving for with novel Dow OSP technologies.”

Dow’s research and development and rich transportation background are helping to provide enhanced, sustainable solutions to the market. With products used in the car body, chassis and powertrain, interiors and exteriors and during in-service use and repair, Dow technologies are helping manufacturers create cars that are lighter-weight for better gas mileage and have stronger structures and crash resistance for increased safety.

“We’re extremely excited to support an organization like RCR and a young, talented driver like Austin Dillon this year,” said Harlan. “Our program with RCR allows us to develop automotive technologies that withstand the most strenuous situations. Our technologies are making race cars stronger, safer and lighter; imagine how they are enhancing the car you use to get you to work and the grocery store.”

About Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (www.rcrracing.com) has earned more than 200 victories and 15 championships, including six in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Its 2014 Sprint Cup Series lineup includes two-time NASCAR champion Austin Dillon (No. 3 Dow/Cheerios/American Ethanol/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet), 2011 Brickyard 400 champion Paul Menard (No. 27 Menards Chevrolet) and 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman (No. 31 Caterpillar/Quicken Loans/WIX Filters Chevrolet). Its Nationwide Series program includes Brian Scott (No. 2 Shore Lodge/Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup Chevrolet), 2012 Camping World Truck Series rookie of the year Ty Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/WESCO/Yuengling Light Lager Chevrolet), Brendan Gaughan (No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino/Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup Chevrolet) and a multi-driver lineup with the No. 33 Menards Chevrolet team.

About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow’s diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2012, Dow had annual sales of approximately $57 billion and employed approximately 54,000 people worldwide. The Company’s more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 36 countries across the globe. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

Munich/Dingolfing. Production of fifth-generation high-voltage batteries and battery modules for use in the BMW iX* and BMW i4 is now underway at the Competence Centre for E-Drive Production in Dingolfing. At the same time, the company is also increasing production capacity for its fifth-generation electric motor, which has been built in Dingolfing for the BMW iX3* since 2020 and will also power the BMW iX* and BMW i4. “We expect at least 50 percent of the vehicles we deliver to our customers worldwide to be electrified by 2030. To achieve this, we are relying on our extensive in-house drive train expertise: We are increasing capacity at existing drive train production locations – like here in Dingolfing – and developing capabilities at others – like recently in Regensburg and Leipzig,” explained Dr Michael Nikolaides, Senior Vice President, Production Engines and E-Drives, BMW Group.

The BMW Group is investing more than 500 million euros in expanding production capacity for e-drives at its Dingolfing location alone between 2020 and 2022. From 2022, it will produce e-drives for more than half a million electrified vehicles. The BMW Group will invest a total of around 790 million euros in expanding capacity for electric powertrain components at its Dingolfing, Leipzig, Regensburg and Steyr locations between 2020 and 2022.

Standard production of the BMW iX* will soon get underway at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing, followed by production of the BMW i4 at Plant Munich in the autumn. The highly integrated e-drives and high-voltage batteries for these vehicles will all be manufactured at the Competence Centre for E-Drive Production in Dingolfing. The BMW Group already began producing battery components at Plants Regensburg and Leipzig in April and May 2021. In line with growing demand for e-drives, BMW Group Plants Landshut and Steyr are also stepping up production of e-drive housings.

Production of fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology

The output and energy content of drive units and high-voltage batteries with fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology can be flexibly scaled. This means they can be optimally adjusted to suit different model variants.

Each vehicle uses up to two highly integrated e-drives, which combine the electric motor, power electronics and transmission in a single housing. Based on the design principle of a current-excited rotor, the fifth-generation e-drive does not require any materials classified as rare-earth metals.

BMW eDrive technology also comprises a high-voltage battery with state-of-the-art battery cell technology. The BMW Group agreed with its suppliers that they will only use renewable green power for producing fifth-generation battery cells. The entire high-voltage battery boasts outstanding qualities in the areas of performance, charging and discharging characteristics, durability and safety. The technically standardised production process for battery modules has been further developed in such a way that different module variants can be produced on the same production line – in line with the growing range of electrified vehicle models and performance levels. The production systems are highly flexible and scalable. Battery modules are produced from supplied prismatic battery cells at the respective BMW Group production location. A modular system developed in-house allows model-specific high-voltage batteries to be manufactured from these modules in a flexible arrangement.

The company has outstanding expertise and experience, both in the field of battery cell technology and in production of model-specific high-voltage batteries. The BMW Group conducts basic research in the fields of cell chemistry and cell design at its own Battery Cell Competence Centre. The BMW Group also produces battery cell prototypes itself. These battery cell prototypes are used in tests to validate the development maturity of battery cells and to demonstrate the effectiveness of the production processes. In addition, the prototype production of the battery cells serves the identification of process potentials as well as the optimization of the production processes. In this way, the BMW Group gains a thorough understanding of the entire battery cell value chain and the decisive competitive advantages its chemical and technical properties offer. This enables battery cells to be manufactured to precise specifications that are geared towards each vehicle’s individual requirements.

Competence Centre for E-Drive Production

Following extensive expansion, the Competence Centre for E-Drive Production now provides a usable area of 125,000 sq. m. This is where the company manufactures electric motors and the components needed for them, as well as high-voltage batteries and battery modules. A paint coating is also applied to the battery cells at this location. The coating increases mechanical robustness and thermal conductivity, thereby improving insulation and cooling of the even more powerful fifth-generation battery cells.

Plant Dingolfing has been manufacturing standard high-voltage batteries and battery modules since 2013, when the BMW Group’s first all-electric vehicle, the BMW i3*, went into production. The first production lines for electric motors and high-voltage batteries for plug-in hybrids went on-stream there in 2014. The Competence Centre for E-Drive Production has been steadily growing ever since. The plant has also been producing high-voltage batteries for the fully electric MINI Cooper SE* since 2019 and, since 2020, also the highly integrated fifth-generation e-drive used for the first time in the BMW iX3*. Production of the even more powerful high-voltage batteries for the BMW iX* and BMW i4 is now getting underway. E-drives for future models can also be produced on the flexible production lines.

Qualification for long-term, sustainable jobs

With the BMW Group systematically pursuing progress in electromobility, the demands on employees and their areas of responsibility are also constantly evolving. “We are growing our staff for e-drive production almost exclusively through personnel restructuring. We are actively shaping the transformation process and leveraging our employees’ skills so we can develop long-term sustainable jobs,” explains Nikolaides.

The Competence Centre for E-Drive Production in Dingolfing currently has almost 1,400 employees. By the end of 2021, around 1,900 employees are expected to work in e-drive production in Dingolfing.

Production employees receive further training at the in-house learning centre, which uses innovative vocational training and further education methods to provide employees with intensive preparation for their new tasks. Employees’ knowledge and skills are being expanded specifically to include new electromobility technologies, with a training concept that is constantly updated. The training sessions are held in the classroom, at practice workstations and directly on the production lines. Digital methods and augmented reality play a bigger role here than ever before. Thanks to these methods, the training courses were also able to continue safely during the coronavirus pandemic, in compliance with health and safety measures.

“The learning centre takes a holistic approach that supports employees throughout their professional development and further education, from their first day in production,” reports Dr Sven Jochmann, head of Production E-Drives Dingolfing, Landshut, Regensburg, Leipzig. “As well as trainers and managers, new colleagues are also supported by trained mentors who help them quickly find their way around their new working environment,” adds Jochmann.

Transformation of the Dingolfing location

The Dingolfing location is a prime example of the successful transformation of the BMW Group plants towards e-mobility and digitalisation. E-drive production, including electric motors and high-voltage batteries, is located in an existing, roughly 50-year-old building at the site, rather than using new space. The infrastructure was adapted to the new requirements and expanded accordingly. A modern staff restaurant seats 300 and there is also a new parking deck with space for 800 vehicles. The structural measures are rounded out by a 25,000 sq. m. logistics hall, new office spaces and social rooms close to the production area, as well as an additional plant gate in the south for improved logistics flows.

On the issue of sustainability, the BMW Group takes a holistic approach to reducing CO2 emissions and minimising resource consumption that covers the entire value chain, including in-house production, the supply chain and use phase. In Dingolfing, as at all BMW Group locations, production uses only green power. In addition, all BMW Group locations have been net carbon neutral since this year, through corresponding offsets and certificates. The company is also using many other levers: from building technology to energy-efficient installations to increased use of renewable energies. Electric trucks will be used for intra-company goods transport at the Competence Centre for E-Drive Production from the autumn.

2030: At least 50 percent of global BMW Group sales will be fully electric

The BMW Group continues its massive electromobility ramp-up: The company will offer five fully-electric models by the end of this year: the BMW i3*, the MINI Cooper SE* and the BMW iX3*, as well as the two main innovation flagships, the BMW iX* and BMW i4.

Between now and 2025, the BMW Group will increase its sales of fully-electric models by an average of well over 50 percent per year – more than ten times the number of units sold in 2020. Based on its current market forecast, the company also expects at least 50 percent of its global sales to come from fully-electric vehicles in 2030. In total, over the next ten years or so, the BMW Group will be releasing about ten million fully-electric vehicles onto the roads.

Global e-drive production network with a focus in Germany

The high-voltage batteries and battery components needed for all BMW and MINI electrified vehicles come from the company’s own battery factories in Dingolfing, Leipzig and Regensburg in Germany, as well as from Spartanburg (USA) and Shenyang (China). The BMW Group has also localised production of high-voltage batteries in Thailand, at its Rayong plant, and is working with the Dräxlmaier Group for this. Munich is home to the e-drive pilot plant and the Battery Cell Competence Centre, where the BMW Group is conducting a full analysis of battery cell value creation processes and advancing technology for its production processes.

The company produces electric motors at the Competence Centre for E-Drive Production in Dingolfing and at BMW Group Plant Landshut. BMW Group Plant Steyr builds the housing for the highly integrated fifth-generation e-drive.

Today, the Commission has adopted two decisions concerning tax rulings granted by Luxembourg to Fiat and by the Netherlands to Starbucks. The tax rulings have artificially reduced the tax burden of both companies. This is illegal under EU state aid rules.

The decisions send a clear message: National tax authorities cannot give any company, however large or powerful, an unfair competitive advantage compared to others. For most companies, especially the small and medium-sized, I hope this is a reassuring message – for those who have paid their fair share in tax.

The tax rulings we investigated endorsed submissions by both companies which contained complex arrangements. We found a large variety of methods, one more complex than the other. They put an artificial price tag on transactions between group companies that could have been priced on the market.

These arrangements shifted profits from one company to another in the same group, with no valid economic justification.
But the result is that the company pays almostno tax on profits made.
Our decisions today show that artificial and complex methods endorsed by tax rulings cannot mask the actual profits of a company, which must be properly and fully taxed.

To be clear, tax rulings as such are legal, if used by tax authorities to give clarity to a company on how its corporate tax will be calculated. But they cannot endorse the setting of prices for goods and services sold within entities of the same group – so-called ‘transfer prices’ – that do not correspond to market conditions. Doing so would disadvantage all the stand-alone companies that are not part of a group. They are taxed on their actual profits because they pay market prices for the goods and services they use.
I would now like to explain to you in more detail the two decisions that we took today.

Tax advantages for Fiat in Luxembourg
One decision concerns a tax ruling that the Luxembourg tax authorities have granted to Fiat Finance and Trade in 2012. Fiat Finance and Trade provides financing through loans and bonds to other European companies within the Fiat group.
The Commission’s investigation showed that the tax ruling since 2012 unduly reduced the company’s tax burden by a total of between €20 and €30 million.

This is because the tax ruling accepts an extremely complex and artificial methodology to calculate Fiat Finance and Trade’s taxable profits, which cannot be justified by economic reality. As a result Fiat Finance and Trade only paid taxes on its underestimated profits. The Commission’s analysis showed that its taxable profits in Luxembourg would have been 20 times higher if the calculations had been done at market conditions.

Tax advantages for Starbucks in the Netherlands
In a separate investigation, we also found that since 2008 Starbucks Manufacturing EN BV has benefitted from undue tax advantages. Starbucks Manufacturing is the Starbucks group’s only coffee roasting company in Europe.

It sells and distributes roasted coffee and other products to Starbucks outlets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Our investigation showed that the tax ruling has unduly reduced Starbucks Manufacturing’s tax burden since 2008 by a total of between €20 and €30 million. This was done mainly in two ways:

First, Starbucks Manufacturing paid a very substantial royalty to another Starbucks company in the UK for using coffee-roasting know-how. This royalty cannot be justified because it does not reflect market value. Other Starbucks group companies and independent roasters are not required to pay a royalty for using the know-how in essentially the same situation.

Second, Starbucks Manufacturing also pays a highly inflated price for green coffee beans to Switzerland-based Starbucks Coffee Trading SARL.
As a result of both, Starbucks Manufacturing’s taxable profits in the Netherlands are substantially reduced. The royalty shifts the large majority of its profits – which cover coffee but in reality are largely generated from tea, pastries and cups etc. – to the group company in the UK. This company is not liable to pay corporate tax in the UK, nor in the Netherlands.

Where do we go from here?
Luxembourg and the Netherlands must now recover the unpaid tax from Fiat and Starbucks, respectively. This will remove the unfair competitive advantage they have enjoyed and restore equal treatment with other companies in similar situations. This amounts to between €20 and €30 million for each company. For comparison, last year, Fiat Finance and Trade paid not even €0.4 million in corporate tax and Starbucks Manufacturing paid not even €0.6 million.

We do not stop here. We continue the inquiries into tax rulings practices in all EU Member States, as well as the ongoing investigations into tax rulings in Ireland, Luxembourg and Belgium. Since 2014, we have a new market investigation tool that require companies suspected of receiving state support, and their competitors, to hand over information relevant to our inquiries – this tool has already been helpful in today’s cases.
More cases may come, if we have indications that EU state aid rules are not being complied with.
In terms of timing, I stand by what I have said before – Fast is always better than slow, but best of all is to be just. When a case is ready, we will take a decision.

Of course, each case is assessed on its merits, so today’s decisions do not prejudge the outcome of these ongoing probes.
At the same time it is important to recognise that we will not be able to achieve fair tax competition in Europe with enforcement of state aid rules alone. The fight against tax evasion and tax avoidance can only be won with a smart combination of legislative action and competition enforcement.

That is why it is so important to implement the Commission’s Action Plan for fair and efficient corporate taxation, presented in June this year by my colleagues Valdis Dombrovskis and Pierre Moscovici. The re-launch of the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base is important because it can eliminate loopholes and the mismatches between national systems, which companies can currently exploit to avoid tax. It would also close off opportunities for profit shifting. Additionally, more transparency is also crucial. For all this, we of course need Member States to be on board.
There are encouraging signs that national governments are coming round to new realities. The G20 Finance Ministers reached an agreement just two weeks ago to endorse the OECD’s Base Erosion Profit Shifting project.

It contains revised transfer pricing guidelines that put clear emphasis on the need for taxation to take place where value is created.
I also look forward to seeing the final report of the European Parliament’s Special Committee on Tax Rulings and would like to thank them for their strong support for our state aid work to tackle aggressive tax planning.

Last but not least, I believe that we need a more fundamental shift in corporate philosophies – if it isn’t part of it already, paying one’s fair share of tax should be firmly integrated in a company’s corporate social responsibility.
So as you can see, EU state aid enforcement is just one part of a wider package that needs to come together to effectively address corporate tax avoidance and tax evasion. But it also means that there is a big team that can get to work – here in the Commission, and together with the European Parliament, EU Member States, the OECD and other international partners as well as businesses.

Cartel decision
I would also like to briefly mention another important decision we took. Today, the Commission has imposed fines of more than €116 million on companies who operated a cartel for optical disk drives, such as those used by millions of European consumers in their desktops and laptops. The companies are Philips, Lite-On, their joint venture, Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology, Hitachi LG Data Storage, Sony, Optiarc and Quanta.
These companies colluded on bids for tenders organised by Dell and Hewlett Packard to buy CD and DVD drives, for different durations between 2004 and 2008. For example, they shared information about their bidding strategies and the results of procurement tenders.
Philips, Lite-On and their joint venture don’t have to pay their fine because they were the first to reveal the cartel to us. Our leniency programme exists precisely to encourage companies in a cartel to reveal it to us.
The companies in this case were well aware that their behaviour was illegal and took measures to avoid being detected.
Apart from using generic names or abbreviations, they also met in car parks or cinemas. But whatever strategies companies may put in place, they will not escape our attention.
An interesting aspect of this cartel is that the contacts between the companies took place outside the EU – in Asia and the US. But the effects were very much felt in Europe because the disk drives were sold into the EU. The message to cartelists is clear – we will investigate and fine anticompetitive practices anywhere in the world, that harm consumers on EU markets.

SAN DIEGO – General Motors is bringing its OnStar-enabled Smart Grid solutions, to one of the largest electric vehicle collaborations to take place within the industry. Eight global automakers, including GM, and 15 electric utilities are working with the Electric Power Research Institute to develop and implement a standardized Smart Grid integration platform.

“One thing that’s missing from most Smart Grid programs is a sense of collaboration,” said Tim Nixon, chief technology officer, Global Connected Consumer, GM. “Companies will showcase a meaningful solution, but without widespread acceptance in the industry, its usability is limited. That’s what makes this partnership unique.”

GM currently offers extended range electric vehicles – the Chevrolet Volt and Cadillac ELR – as well as the all-electric Chevrolet Spark EV. The plug-in electric vehicle market in the U.S. has grown to more than 225,000 vehicles – including more than 63,000 Chevrolet Volts, the best-selling plug-in vehicle in the U.S. since launch in 2010.

“As electric vehicles become more prevalent in the marketplace, it will present some unique challenges and opportunities for utilities who manage the flow of the electric grid,” said Dan Bowermaster, EPRI manager of Electric Transportation. “The focus of this collaboration is to create a standard program that will allow utilities to work with different types of plug-in vehicles to more efficiently manage their demand on the grid.”

For the first phase of the program, EPRI and the participating companies will work to develop a standardized Demand Response solution. Demand Response is the signal a utility sends to an energy management company communicating the supply and demand needs to the electric grid. That company then communicates with designated plug-in vehicles in the area to manage their energy consumption in accordance with the grid’s needs.

“If such a service were ever to be implemented for consumers that opt-in to it, they could receive a financial benefit or other incentive for allowing their vehicle charging to be managed,” said Nixon. “This would also allow utilities to help reduce stress on the grid and costs to all utility customers.”

The goal of this program is to develop a cloud-based, central server that would receive grid requests from a utility – like Demand Response – and then translate and standardize that request so it could be relayed to all appropriate plug-in vehicles in the designated area. Automakers would be expected to develop and deploy technologies compatible with these smart grid communications.

GM has been working with companies like TimberRock Energy Solutions, Inc. to research, test and develop potential real-world solutions like Demand Response.

The global automakers participating in this program are: American Honda Motor Co., Honda R&D Americas, Inc., BMW Group, Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Co., GM, Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, Inc., Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. The utilities involved are DTE Energy, Duke Energy, PJM Interconnection LLC, CenterPoint Energy, Inc., Southern Company, Northeast Utilities, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric, Commonwealth Edison, TVA, Manitoba Hydro, Austin Energy, ConEd and CPS Energy.

About OnStar LLC
OnStar, LLC (OnStar) is a wholly owned subsidiary of GM Holdings LLC (“GM”). Along with its affiliate Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co. Ltd (a joint venture involving OnStar, Shanghai General Motors Co., Ltd (SGM) and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC)), OnStar serves more than seven million subscribers in North America and China. OnStar is a provider of connected safety, security and mobility solutions and advanced information technology. OnStar’s key services include automatic crash response, stolen vehicle assistance, remote door unlock, turn-by-turn navigation, vehicle diagnostics and hands-free calling.

Today, in the Artipelag art museum, Mercedes-Benz celebrated the world premiere of the new, fully-electric EQC (combined power consumption: 22.2 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km, provisional figures)1. Dieter Zetsche presented the first Mercedes-Benz model under the product and technology brand EQ to over 600 invited guests. As a purely battery-electrically powered vehicle, the EQC stands for an impressive combination of comfort, quality and day-to-day suitability. In visual terms the crossover SUV is the front-runner for an avantgarde electric look. Not only the protagonist itself, but also the location for the world premiere was a statement for sustainability. The Artipelag museum is surrounded by forest on the banks of Stockholm’s skerries, and embodies the link between art and nature – it is an extraordinary and apt location for the departure into a new era of mobility at Mercedes-Benz.

“The EQC brings design, functionality and service together in a unique way. It offers day-to-day suitable e-mobility in a very special package: the EQC is an electric car, and at the same time 100 percent a Mercedes,” says Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

With its seamless, clear design and colour highlights typical of the brand, the EQC is the front-runner for an avantgarde electric look while embodying progressive luxury with its design idiom. With respect to quality, safety and comfort, the EQC is the Mercedes-Benz among electric vehicles and immediately impresses with the sum of its attributes. These are accompanied by dynamic performance, thanks to two electric motors at the front and rear axles with a combined output of 300 kW (provisional figure)2. Thanks to a sophisticated operating strategy, an electric driving range of more than 450 km according to NEDC (provisional figure)2 is possible. EQ also offers comprehensive services with Mercedes me, and makes electromobility convenient and suitable for day-to-day motoring.

Before the actual reveal, the guests were given all the background and details related to the EQC. Britta Seeger, Ola Källenius and Markus Schäfer e.g. moderated the EQ sessions on various topics such as development, design, safety, drive, the electromobility brand EQ and the production strategy for the new electric vehicle. Together with this varied and informative programme as well as with the unusual location, the inventor of the automobile showed that Mercedes-Benz is embarking on a new era. Electric now has a Mercedes

The Tesla Model S drive unit warranty has been increased to match that of the battery pack. That means the 85 kWh Model S, our most popular model by far, now has an 8 year, infinite mile warranty on both the battery pack and drive unit. There is also no limit on the number of owners during the warranty period.

Moreover, the warranty extension will apply retroactively to all Model S vehicles ever produced. In hindsight, this should have been our policy from the beginning of the Model S program. If we truly believe that electric motors are fundamentally more reliable than gasoline engines, with far fewer moving parts and no oily residue or combustion byproducts to gum up the works, then our warranty policy should reflect that.

To investors in Tesla, I must acknowledge that this will have a moderately negative effect on Tesla earnings in the short term, as our warranty reserves will necessarily have to increase above current levels. This is amplified by the fact that we are doing so retroactively, not just for new customers. However, by doing the right thing for Tesla vehicle owners at this early stage of our company, I am confident that it will work out well in the long term.

www.teslamotors.com

ST. LOUIS – Enterprise Car Sales, a service of Enterprise Rent-A-Car and part of the world’s largest car rental company, and Chase today announced a new multi-year, private-label agreement, which aims to provide car buyers a seamless customer experience – from the selection of their vehicle to the financing of their purchase.

Under the agreement, Chase Auto Finance will be the private-label auto finance provider at more than 130 U.S.-based Enterprise Car Sales locations. Marketed and serviced under the name Enterprise Auto Finance, the unique offering will provide customers a financing experience that complements Enterprise’s award-winning customer service. Enterprise Auto Finance will roll out later this year.

“Chase is pleased to provide Enterprise with a consistent source of funding and servicing as it continues to expand its car sales business,” said Thasunda Duckett, Chief Executive Officer for Chase Auto Finance. “This is a great opportunity to deliver a world-class customer experience under the Enterprise Auto Finance brand.”

Enterprise Car Sales customers already appreciate Enterprise’s low-pressure car-buying experience, which includes haggle-free buying. From the first day Enterprise began selling used vehicles in St. Louis in 1962, customers have been assured that the listed price is the price they pay. That approach allows the Enterprise sales team to focus on the customer experience – and the exceptional service that is a hallmark of Enterprise.

“We are excited to join with Chase to offer a private-label financing option for our customers,” said Mike Bystrom, Vice President of Enterprise Car Sales. “We’ve enjoyed a strong partnership with Chase for many years. Our companies share a deep commitment to exceeding customer expectations, giving back to our local communities, supporting military veterans and their families, and putting the customer first. Chase is a natural fit to provide financing to our customers through Enterprise Auto Finance.”

Enterprise Car Sales Offers Private-Label Financing Option Through Chase

Chase is the number one non-captive prime auto lender in the United States and has been providing auto financing for more than 60 years. As a full-service provider, Chase Auto Finance offers financing, leasing, dealer floorplan, commercial banking and treasury services. Chase has more than $60 billion in auto loans and leases for nearly 3 million customers in the U.S. and has relationships with more than 70 percent of all U.S. auto dealerships.

For more information about Chase Auto Finance, visit www.chase.com/auto-loans or www.chasedealer.com. For more information about Enterprise Car Sales, visit www.enterprisecarsales.com.

About Enterprise Car Sales
Enterprise Car Sales features more than 250 makes and models of certified high-quality, late-model used cars, trucks, vans and SUVs. Each vehicle passes a rigorous 109-point inspection conducted by an ASE-Certified technician, and comes with a seven-day/1,000-mile repurchase policy. A free CARFAX® Vehicle History Report™ also is available for all certified vehicles. Enterprise Holdings, headquartered in St. Louis, owns and operates Enterprise Car Sales and Enterprise Rent-A-Car through its regional subsidiaries – with more than 5,500 Enterprise rental offices located within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population. Enterprise Car Sales, which has sold more than one million used cars, has more than 130 U.S. locations. For more information about Enterprise Car Sales, visit www.enterprisecarsales.com.

About Chase
Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.4 trillion and operations worldwide. Chase serves nearly half of America’s households with a broad range of financial services, including personal banking, credit cards, mortgages, auto financing, investment advice, small business loans and payment processing. Customers can choose how and where they want to bank: 5,500 branches, 18,000 ATMs, mobile, online and by phone. For more information, go to Chase.com.

WASHINGTON – Today, EPA is issuing a second notice of violation (NOV) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. This NOV is also being issued to Porsche AG and Porsche Cars North America. These five companies are collectively referred to as Volkswagen (VW). The NOV alleges that VW developed and installed a defeat device in certain VW, Audi and Porsche light duty diesel vehicles equipped with 3.0 liter engines for model years (MY) 2014 through 2016 that increases emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) up to nine times EPA’s standard. The vehicles covered by today’s NOV are the diesel versions of: the 2014 VW Touareg, the 2015 Porsche Cayenne, and the 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L, and Q5.

EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) have both initiated investigations based on Volkswagen’s alleged actions. The NOV covers approximately 10,000 diesel passenger cars already sold in the United States since MY 2014. In addition, the NOV covers an unknown volume of 2016 vehicles.

These alleged violations are in addition to the NOV issued on September 18th and the ongoing investigation by EPA alleging a defeat device on certain 2.0 liter engines for MY 2009-2015 vehicles.

“VW has once again failed its obligation to comply with the law that protects clean air for all Americans,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the Office for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “All companies should be playing by the same rules. EPA, with our state, and federal partners, will continue to investigate these serious matters, to secure the benefits of the Clean Air Act, ensure a level playing field for responsible businesses, and to ensure consumers get the environmental performance they expect.”

“On September 25, the California Air Resources Board sent letters to all manufacturers letting them know we would be screening vehicles for potential defeat devices,” said Richard Corey, Executive Officer of the California Air Resources Board. “Since then ARB, EPA and Environment Canada have continued test programs on additional diesel-powered passenger cars and SUVs. These tests have raised serious concerns about the presence of defeat devices on additional VW, Audi and Porsche vehicles. Today we are requiring VW Group to address these issues. This is a very serious public health matter. ARB and EPA will continue to conduct a rigorous investigation that includes testing more vehicles until all of the facts are out in the open.”

Following the September 18th NOV issued for 2.0 liter engines, on September 25th EPA initiated testing of all 2015 and 2016 light duty diesel models available in the U.S using updated testing procedures specifically designed to detect potential defeat devices. That testing led directly to the alleged violations covered under today’s NOV. The NOV is based on vehicle emission testing performed by the EPA’s National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory, CARB’s Haagen-Smit Laboratory, and Environment Canada’s River Road Laboratory.

Affected diesel models include:

— 2014 VW Touareg
— 2015 Porsche Cayenne
— 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L, and Q5

November 2 Notice of Violation Details:

As alleged in the NOV, VW manufactured and installed software in the electronic control module of these vehicles that senses when the vehicle is being tested for compliance with EPA emissions standards. When the vehicle senses that it is undergoing a federal emissions test procedure, it operates in a low NOx “temperature conditioning” mode. Under that mode, the vehicle meets emission standards. At exactly one second after the completion of the initial phases of the standard test procedure, the vehicle immediately changes a number of operating parameters that increase NOx emissions and indicates in the software that it is transitioning to “normal mode,” where emissions of NOx increase up to nine times the EPA standard, depending on the vehicle and type of driving conditions. In other tests where the vehicle does not experience driving conditions similar to the start of the federal test procedure, the emissions are higher from the start, consistent with “normal mode.”

VW’s software on these vehicles includes one or more Auxiliary Emission Control Devices (AECD) that the company failed to disclose, describe and justify in their applications for certificate of conformity for each model. Every manufacturer must apply to EPA for and be approved for a certificate of conformity for each model, each year otherwise it is illegal to introduce the cars into commerce. An AECD designed to circumvent emissions test is a defeat device.

The Clean Air Act requires vehicle manufacturers to certify to EPA that their products will meet applicable federal emission standards to control air pollution, and every vehicle sold in the U.S. must be covered by an EPA-issued certificate of conformity. The Clean Air Act also prohibits manufacturers’ making and selling vehicles equipped with defeat devices that reduce the effectiveness of the emission control system during normal driving conditions. By making and selling vehicles with defeat devices and by selling vehicles with higher levels of air emissions than were certified to EPA, Volkswagen allegedly violated two important provisions of the Clean Air Act.

NOx pollution contributes to harmful ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter. Exposure to these pollutants has been linked with a range of serious health effects, including increased asthma attacks and other respiratory illnesses. Exposure to ozone and particulate matter has also been associated with premature death due to respiratory-related or cardiovascular-related effects. Children, the elderly, and people with pre-existing respiratory disease are particularly at risk of health effects from exposure to these pollutants.

VW may be liable for civil penalties and injunctive relief for the violations alleged in the NOV. VW will have an opportunity to respond to the allegations contained in the NOV.

It is Volkswagen’s responsibility to fix the vehicles’ emissions systems. Although these vehicles have emissions exceeding standards, these violations do not present a safety hazard for car owners and drivers and the vehicles remain legal to drive and resell. Owners of vehicles of these models and years do not need to take any action at this time. Owners looking for additional information can visit: http://www3.epa.gov/otaq/cert/violations.htm and scroll down to Frequently Asked Questions.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) are releasing the 2014 Fuel Economy Guide, providing consumers with a valuable resource to identify and choose the most fuel efficient and low greenhouse gas emitting vehicles that meet their needs. The 2014 models include efficient and low-emission vehicles in a variety of classes and sizes, ensuring a wide variety of choices available for consumers.

“For American families, the financial and environmental bottom line are high priorities when shopping for a new vehicle,” said Administrator Gina McCarthy. “This year’s guide is not just about how the latest models stack up against each other; it’s about providing people the best information possible to make smart decisions affecting their pocketbooks and the planet.”

“The Energy Department is committed to building a strong 21st century transportation sector that cuts harmful pollution, saves consumers money and leads to a more sustainable energy future,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “By providing reliable, user-friendly fuel economy information, the Fuel Economy Guide is helping Americans choose the right fuel efficient vehicle for their family and business and save money at the pump.”

The guide provides “Top Ten” lists allowing consumers to see the most efficient advanced technology vehicles as well as the most efficient gasoline and diesel powered vehicles. Consumers will also find a broad range of information in the guide that can be helpful while shopping for a new vehicle— including an estimated annual fuel cost for each vehicle. The estimate is based on the vehicle’s miles per gallon (mpg) rating and national estimates for annual mileage and fuel prices. An online version of the guide, available through www.fueleconomy.gov, allows consumers to enter local gasoline prices and typical driving habits to receive a personalized fuel cost estimate. Also, for the second consecutive year, the guide includes a 1-10 greenhouse gas rating for each model, providing a quick and easy way for consumers to identify vehicles with low greenhouse gas emissions.

EPA fuel economy estimates are the best way to compare the fuel economy among vehicles. Official fuel economy testing is controlled, repeatable, and accounts for a variety of real-world conditions for the average driver, like air conditioning usage and a variety of speed and temperature conditions. Individual mileage will vary depending on factors such as driving style, high air conditioning usage, carrying extra weight and towing, and weather.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.energy.gov

Washington – Today, EPA is issuing a notice of violation (NOV) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (collectively referred to as Volkswagen). The NOV alleges that four-cylinder Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars from model years 2009-2015 include software that circumvents EPA emissions standards for certain air pollutants. California is separately issuing an In-Use Compliance letter to Volkswagen, and EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) have both initiated investigations based on Volkswagen’s alleged actions.

“Using a defeat device in cars to evade clean air standards is illegal and a threat to public health,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Working closely with the California Air Resources Board, EPA is committed to making sure that all automakers play by the same rules. EPA will continue to investigate these very serious matters.”

“Working with US EPA we are taking this important step to protect public health thanks to the dogged investigations by our laboratory scientists and staff,” said Air Resources Board Executive Officer Richard Corey. “Our goal now is to ensure that the affected cars are brought into compliance, to dig more deeply into the extent and implications of Volkswagen’s efforts to cheat on clean air rules, and to take appropriate further action.”

As described in the NOV, a sophisticated software algorithm on certain Volkswagen vehicles detects when the car is undergoing official emissions testing, and turns full emissions controls on only during the test. The effectiveness of these vehicles’ pollution emissions control devices is greatly reduced during all normal driving situations. This results in cars that meet emissions standards in the laboratory or testing station, but during normal operation, emit nitrogen oxides, or NOx, at up to 40 times the standard. The software produced by Volkswagen is a “defeat device,” as defined by the Clean Air Act.

The Clean Air Act requires vehicle manufacturers to certify to EPA that their products will meet applicable federal emission standards to control air pollution, and every vehicle sold in the U.S. must be covered by an EPA-issued certificate of conformity. Motor vehicles equipped with defeat devices, which reduce the effectiveness of the emission control system during normal driving conditions, cannot be certified. By making and selling vehicles with defeat devices that allowed for higher levels of air emissions than were certified to EPA, Volkswagen violated two important provisions of the Clean Air Act.

EPA and CARB uncovered the defeat device software after independent analysis by researchers at West Virginia University, working with the International Council on Clean Transportation, a non-governmental organization, raised questions about emissions levels, and the agencies began further investigations into the issue. In September, after EPA and CARB demanded an explanation for the identified emission problems, Volkswagen admitted that the cars contained defeat devices.

NOx pollution contributes to nitrogen dioxide, ground-level ozone, and fine particulate matter. Exposure to these pollutants has been linked with a range of serious health effects, including increased asthma attacks and other respiratory illnesses that can be serious enough to send people to the hospital. Exposure to ozone and particulate matter have also been associated with premature death due to respiratory-related or cardiovascular-related effects. Children, the elderly, and people with pre-existing respiratory disease are particularly at risk for health effects of these pollutants.

VW may be liable for civil penalties and injunctive relief for the violations alleged in the NOV.

The allegations cover roughly 482,000 diesel passenger cars sold in the United States since 2008.

Affected diesel models include:
• Jetta (Model Years 2009 – 2015)
• Beetle (Model Years 2009 – 2015)
• Audi A3 (Model Years 2009 – 2015)
• Golf (Model Years 2009 – 2015)
• Passat (Model Years 2014-2015)

It is incumbent upon Volkswagen to initiate the process that will fix the cars’ emissions systems. Car owners should know that although these vehicles have emissions exceeding standards, these violations do not present a safety hazard and the cars remain legal to drive and resell. Owners of cars of these models and years do not need to take any action at this time.

Washington, DC and Brussels – As the fifth round of negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) take place this week in Arlington, Virginia, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), the American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC), and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Alliance) reiterate their strong support for an ambitious automotive sector component in any final package.

The associations also announced that the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) in partnership with SAFER, a transportation research center at Chalmers University in Gothenburg, Sweden (two of the leading traffic safety research centers in the U.S. and EU), are commencing Phase 2 of a study in support of the TTIP negotiations. The study is evaluating whether motor vehicles manufactured in compliance with either the EU or U.S. regulatory requirements provide essentially equivalent real-world safety performance when driven on European roadways or on U.S. roadways.

At a stakeholder presentation on May 21st, the associations announced that Phase 1 of the study had been completed. UMTRI and SAFER have developed a methodology to analyze real-world traffic accident data using three statistical approaches, to provide a sound technical basis for assessing the similarities or differences in safety performance between EU and U.S. -regulated vehicles. The organizations have also identified potential country-specific and multinational datasets to use in Phase 2 of the study.

AAPC, ACEA and the Alliance believe that the benefits of any ambitious agreement can only be reached if sufficient regulatory convergence is achieved. The three associations have been working together since the announcement of the TTIP negotiations to harmonize positions and to deliver supporting evidence of essentially equivalent real-world safety performance.

EU-U.S. auto-related trade currently accounts for 10% of total trade between the two regions. Together, the EU and the US account for 32% of global auto production and 35% of global auto sales. Under a TTIP, the two regions would represent the largest share of auto production and sales ever covered by a single trade agreement.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association represents the 15 Europe-based car, van, truck and bus manufacturers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler, FIAT SpA, Ford of Europe, General Motors Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, IVECO SpA, Jaguar Land Rover, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, Volvo Cars, Volvo Group.

The American Automotive Policy Council represents the common public policy interests of its member companies – Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Company.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is a trade association of 12 car and light truck manufacturers including BMW Group, Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

This news is courtesy of wwww.autoalliance.org