+++ BMW is to launch a wave of new performance models in the 50th anniversary year of its storied M division, among them some of the most powerful combustion-engined models it has yet produced and its first pure-electric sports cars. As it hits 50 this year, M division is on the cusp of a transformative era that will see it phase out its range of petrol-powered coupés, saloons and SUVs to replace them with high-powered electric alternatives, in line with BMW’s pledge to ramp up EV production. From 2025, the firm will usher in its third-generation EVs atop the all-new Neue Klasse platform, which will be entirely scalable for deployment in cars equivalent in size to both the 2 Series and X7. Capable also of hosting PHEV powertrains and hydrogen fuel cell systems, it will replace the FAAR and CLAR structure in use across BMW’s line-up, but not before those architectures have hosted an array of sporting models from M division. Last year, M sold more than 160.000 cars to become the world’s best-selling performance sub-brand. Here’s what they’ve got in the works. 1) M2 Competiton (Perhaps the most keenly anticipated and highest-profile launch on BMW’s agenda for this year is that of the G87-generation M2, which will take the formula of the acclaimed Mk1 model and uprate it across the board to strengthen its position as a leader in the sports coupé segment. The reinvented Porsche 718 Cayman rival is due in dealerships by the end of the year, which means a reveal is only months away. The second-generation 2 Series coupé on which it is based is already on sale, still with rear-wheel drive as standard in non-performance models and with a four-wheel-drive M240i, which packs 374 hp and 500 Nm, topping the line-up. Power for the M240i comes from BMW’s B58 straight-6, but the M2 will use a variant of the more highly strung S58 found in the larger M3 and M4. It will endow the M2 with up to 430 hp in top-flight Competition guise, representing a 20 hp hike over the previous car and putting it just 80 hp shy of the M3 Competition and M4 Competition. Expect the 0-100 kph time to come down closer to the 4-second mark as a result. BMW’s finest driving machine gains two famous letters but do they lift it to icon status? BMW’s commitment to the ‘puristic’ driving experience of its junior M model extends to a standard-fit six-speed manual gearbox, a more rigid body shell and suspension set-up and the same 50:50 weight distribution as the M240i). 2) M3 Touring (The BMW M3, currently in its 36th year of production and 6th iteration, has not yet been made available in Touring guise, despite being sold alongside the standard 3 Series estate since its launch. Now, however, M division is nearing completion of the first-ever M3 Touring, which is tipped to arrive in the next few months and will be among the quickest and most potent estate cars on sale. Test mules remain thickly camouflaged, but even several months out from the car’s unveiling, it is clear the G81 M3 Touring will be differentiated from the saloon only by its extended roof. The vertically oriented grille from the M3 and M4 is carried over (a departure from the horizontal face worn by the standard Touring) and flared arches, Competition alloys and quad-exit exhausts will help separate it from other angles. It will use the S58 straight-6 engine, but like the existing M3 will pack 510 hp in Competition form and, despite around 80kg of extra weight, is expected to broadly match that car’s performance stats, with the potential to shade the V6-powered Audi RS4 Avant. It is expected to arrive at roughly the same time as BMW reveals a series of updates for the wider 3 Series range, lining the M3 Touring up to receive the firm’s eighth-generation iDrive infotainment platform, as pioneered by the iX and i4 EVs). 3) M4 CSL (While the M3 gets a more practical estate option, the M4 coupé will be offered in a hardcore track-focused guise, with enhanced performance and dynamics, and it could revive the hallowed CSL nameplate. As with the original E9-generation 3.0 CSL (for Coupé Sport Leichtbau, or lightweight), the exclusive M4 range-topper is expected to be heavily uprated, joining the similarly conceived M5 CS in pursuit of faster lap times and segment-leading performance. It will pick up where the previous-generation M4 GTS left off and can be expected to adopt a similarly outlandish aero package, Alcantara-intensive interior, sportier suspension, carbon-ceramic brakes and lightweight body panels. A power hike is also on the cards to further differentiate it from the M4 Competition, potentially courtesy of modifications derived from the M4 GT3 racer, which makes 590 hp from its 3.0-litre engine). 4) XM (The XM is only the second bespoke model from M division, but it is poles apart from the mid-engined M1 supercar that spearheaded M’s push into road cars in the late 1970s. Like that car, the XM will kick-start a radical new era for Munich’s performance brand, being the first model in the division’s portfolio to adopt a plug-in hybrid powertrain. As previewed by last year’s Concept XM, this will take the form of a petrol-electric system built around the firm’s venerable 4.4-litre V8, as used by the M5. With a single electric motor boosting its combined reserves to 750 hp and 1.000 Nm, it is set to be the most powerful road car BMW has yet produced, and while it is likely to weigh well over two tonnes, it will also be among the fastest. A projected electric range of 80 km from a battery of more than 20kWh in capacity will also give the XM one of the longest engine-off ranges of any BMW PHEV. The production car, tipped to be revealed towards the end of this year, will largely retain the outlandish exterior styling and radical new interior treatment shown on the concept, which hints at a stylistic shift for BMW M’s electrified cars. The next-generation M5, however, which will use a variation of the V8 PHEV drivetrain, will be more traditionally styled when it arrives in 2023) 5) i7 M60 (The top-rung M version of the all-new and all-electric i7 saloon will launch alongside the 8th generation 7 Series later this year. BMW’s answer to the Mercedes-Benz EQS will share its CLAR platform and fifth-generation eDrive powertrain with the new iX SUV. That means it will be available in performance-oriented M60 guise, with a twin-motor set-up giving 620 hp and 1.100 Nm for a sub-4 second 0-100 kph time and a top speed of 250 kph; figures that will make the M60 the quickest 7 Series yet produced. The model’s dynamic credentials will be bolstered by a wheel-slip limitation function and M-tuned self-levelling air suspension, while an array of M-specific displays, sounds and colour schemes, as well as a raft of extra equipment as standard, will help mark it out from the standard i7. 6) High-power PHEV could form basis for first-ever M7 (BMW has yet to launch a full-fat M version of its largest saloon, but the XM and next-gen M5 are unlikely to be the only models in the portfolio to use the new electrified V8, meaning an M7 hybrid with supercar levels of power and pace could become reality. Such a model would serve as a direct rival to Mercedes-AMG’s upcoming S63 E Performance (itself a rapid luxury saloon with an electrified V8) and in effect replace the V12-engined M760i, which finally goes out of production later this year. +++
+++ The next BMW X1 will mark a revolution for the German brand, as it prepares to evolve a winning recipe and produce a car aligned with the brand’s wide-reaching electrification strategy. To do this, the X1 will move to an updated version of the current car’s platform, allowing BMW to offer petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and fully electric versions of its Audi Q3 rival. The X1 is BMW’s second most popular SUV and its fourth bestselling car globally, so this new one really matters at a time of delays, disruption and dwindling deliveries throughout the automotive world. Spied numerous times during its lengthy development programme, the car will make its debut in the second half of this year and go on sale in Europe before 2022 is out. The range’s starting price is set to rise slightly and key to unlocking the new X1’s appeal will be a thorough modernisation inside and out, without any major repositioning of the car. The current X1 is now BMW’s oldest SUV, and only younger than the soon-to-be-axed i3 and about-to-be-replaced 7 Series in the firm’s entire passenger-car line-up. As such, there’s plenty to update, while keeping the concept of the X1 relatively unchanged. The new car will still be a compact premium SUV that’s marketed as a more conventional and practical alternative to the sportier-looking X2, which is tipped to be renewed in 2023. The interior in particular will move on quite significantly from the current car’s. The next X1 will adopt BMW’s latest iDrive 8 system and ‘curved display’ infotainment suite, consisting of a 10.25-inch digital instrument panel blended with a 10.7-inch central display. The SUV will move away from rotary dial input, though, shifting to a touchscreen-only user interface. The exterior design, shown by spy shots, will incorporate influences from the German brand’s latest compact models. Sharper lines and detailing, more angular headlights and tail-lights, and larger front kidney grilles will all be introduced as part of the visual refresh. A slight growth spurt will give the car more presence, with a boxier, taller and more imposing profile. Under the new look will be a development of the front-wheel-drive architecture used by the current model. The new X1 will move onto the FAAR platform, which is used by the new 2 Series Active Tourer and will support the next Mini Countryman. Turbocharged 3- and 4-cylinder petrol power with mild-hybrid assistance will make up the bulk of the combustion engine range, driving the front wheels via an 8-speed automatic gearbox. The line-up is likely to begin with the X1 sDrive20i, using a 170 hp 48 volt-assisted 3-cylinder engine, joined by a 4-cylinder 48 volt option with 218 hp. Contrary to its dwindling importance and popularity, diesel power will be retained in the X1, too, more than likely using the latest iteration of the brand’s 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged engine from the new 2 Series Active Tourer. It develops 150 hp. The 2 extremes of the X1 line-up will be represented by a high-performance model developed with input from BMW’s M division, and an all-electric model, called iX1, that will rival the likes of the Mercedes EQA and the Volvo XC40 Recharge. Spy shots of the anticipated X1 M35i hint at sportier exterior styling with a wider track, lower suspension and a quad exhaust set-up. The model will take its running gear from the hottest version of the 1 Series hatchback, the M135i. With a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine developing at least 306 hp and xDrive all-wheel drive fitted as standard, a sub-5 second 0-100 kph dash could well be within reach. Less easy to predict is the composition of the all-electric iX1 model’s powertrain, because we’ve yet to see a compact electric BMW model using the FAAR platform in production form. However, information from the company about the abilities of the FAAR platform has previously suggested a targeted maximum range of 450 km thanks to a 60 kWh underfloor battery – more than enough to ensure that the iX1 will be competitive with its rivals. +++
+++ The current-generation BMW X5 debuted in late 2018 as a 2019 model. Internally known as the G05, the X5 remains one of the brand’s best-selling models and profit drivers. In 2021, BMW shifted over 200,000 of these worldwide along with the mechanically-similar X6. But the SUV is now 3 years old, and it will soon be ripe for a facelift or Life Cycle Impulse in BMW-speak. That will happen next year during the car’s 4th year in production. Not only that, but new and updated engines will also power the popular SUV. BMW is working on a new engine with the codename S68. The report states that the S68 replaces the long-running N63 engine that has been around since 2008. The S68 will be a twin-turbo V8 with a ‘hot-vee’ configuration just like its predecessor. There is a good chance that the engine will have some form of mild-hybrid assist, and the rumoured horsepower rating is at 542 hp. For reference, the current iteration of the N63 engine packs 530 hp and 750 Nm of torque. If the rumour is true, the S68 represents a power bump of 12 hp over the N63. The new engine means the M50i badge gets replaced by an M60i. There are also power upgrades across the range aside from the “junior M” model. The turbocharged straight-6 B58 gets its second technical update and might deliver about 370 hp in the facelifted X5 xDrive40i model. The X5 xDrive45e could also get a power bump from 394 hp to 480 hp. Even the B57 turbodiesel inline-6 will get a third technical update. It is unlikely BMW will rock the boat for its 2023 X5 exterior facelift. That conclusion is from recent spy photos showing an evolutionary redesign. The new X5’s headlights appear longer and slimmer than the outgoing model, while the grille is slightly wider. The bumper might draw some inspiration from the 5 Series LCI that premiered about a year ago. As for the interior, the 2023 X5 could get a digital overhaul since most rivals adopted a floating widescreen layout. +++
+++ ‘Go big or sink fast’ has been the mantra of car makers in the last couple of decades. If your MANUFACTURING operations don’t utilise economies of scale, to use the business-jargon version, then you will never make money in a world in where profit margins are slim and disruptive shocks are becoming the norm, especially in the mass-market end of the car choice. “Autos is a high fixed-cost/scale business”, wrote anaylst Adam Jones of Morgan Stanley bank in January. “Returns are maximised when you can achieve very high volume per unit”. His point was that profits can only flow on annual volumes over 100.000. However, newer car makers and automotive disruptors are challenging the prevailing wisdom to find new ways to bring vehicles to market, especially ones that fulfil a more niche customer need or desire without sending the price spiralling to the point where you’re paying Aston Martin money. A key aim is finding an alternative to the stamping press, a vast and vastly expensive machine that uses immense force to stamp out panels and other car parts from steel. Not only is the press expensive, but so too are the dies; the pattens that create the shape of the parts. “I’ve seen pressed steel dies at $3-4 million each”, said Jean-Philippe Launberg, former technical director of General Motors in Brazil and now strategy and business director of Gordon Murray Design (GMD). “And you don’t just need one for a piece; you need 5 or even 6 steps”. The solution preferred by GMD and others, including hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle hopeful Riversimple, London taxi maker LEVC, commercial EV start-up Arrival and others, are panels pressed from composites, rather than steel. Plastic panels are still pressed but at a much lower pressure, between 100 and 400 tonnes, compared with 3.000-5.000 tonnes for steel, Launberg said, and it’s done in a single step rather than multiple steps. “It enables profitable vehicles than a lower volume than steel”, he explained. “The cost of building a factory for the car is cut by 40%”. Plastic panels can also cut the weight of the vehicle by at least 20%, Launberg said. GMD offers a production process utilising the technology, called iStream, to interested companies. Launberg said two are in the process of using it to bring vehicles to market, one below 5000 a year the other in the “tens of thousands”. Neither is TVR, a named iStream customer that’s still in the process of amassing funds to make its Griffith V8 sports car. The process of sticking non-structural composite panels onto a stiff frame can be done cheaply enough to allow shorter runs of models that are more runabout than rarefied. “If you make steel cars, the optimal scale is about 300,000 for a model [over the course of its life], because that’s what you spit out from pressed steel tools”, said Riversimple founder Hugo Spowers. “As soon as you go to composite, the maximum throughput of one set of tooling is 5000 vehicles, and so that’s how many you assemble on site”. The process cuts the need for the megaplant, Spowers argued. “The beauty of this manufacturing model is if I wanted to make 50.000 instead of 5.000, we would build more small plants, not a bigger plant”, he said. That plant might make a different variant of Riversimple’s dinky lightweight 2-seater, which is still in development. “I’m only gambling 2 to 3 years ahead about what the market wants, rather than 10 years ahead for a big plant”. This ‘microfactory’ idea is one adopted by Arrival, the EV company that’s getting ready to launch a van, due later this year, bus and, in 2023, a car aimed at drivers working for ride-hail companies such as Uber. “The Henry Ford model has worked well, but we said ‘let’s question that; does it need to be one line?’”, said Arrival president Avinash Rugoobur. The planned Arrival van factories are designed to make 10.000 a year, while bus factories are pegged at 2.000. Its vehicles use plastic composites, pressed on site in the required colour. Rugoobur pointed out this removes the need for a stamping press or a paint shop; 2 big expenditures. Car companies with bigger production goals are also questioning the accepted wisdom of car production. Tesla, for example, is employing what it calls the Gigapress, a giant aluminium casting machine that can make front and rear underbodies in one piece each. “We’re literally trying to make full-size cars in the same way that toy cars are made”, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted last year. Tesla says the process replaces “70-plus” parts each. Cost-saving is less the point here but rather the reduction in complexity, increased structural rigidity in the final vehicle and better quality control. Volvo meanwhile has indicated that it too is investing in mega-casting machines as part of an overhaul of its manufacturing. The whole idea of the conveyor-belt system of assembly is being reinvented too by Swiss company ABB, famous for its manufacturing robots. ABB has developed a system in which the production line is replaced by flexible manufacturing cells between which vehicles and parts bins are hauled on trolleys by automated vehicles. ABB claims the system would speed up the time to make a vehicle and reduce manning, cutting costs in 2 key areas. Bentley is one manufacturer that’s keen to do away with the traditional production line. It said in February that its new plant to build its first EV will use automated guided vehicles to move bodies around, rather than a traditional conveyor belt. “It will give us the ultimate flexibility in volume”, said Bentley head of manufacturing Peter Bosch. “Manufacturing is hard” is a favourite saying of Musk, and that holds true no matter which way it’s approached. But as with anything to do with cars, at some point you have to question the old tried-and-tested methods to see whether it can’t be done better. +++
+++ It’s the worst sort of traffic. That surging, accelerate-to-60 then-slam-the-brakes inconsistency that aggravates your last nerve. Oh, and there’s that driver aggressively changing lanes just in front of you, even though traffic in all lanes is pretty much stuck. Enter MERCEDES ’s latest driving-assist system, Drive Pilot, which allows the car to take over and navigate this most-tedious part of a commute, allowing you to take your hands off the wheel, feet off the pedals, and eyes off the road. Really. Drive Pilot is Mercedes’ entry into Level 3 autonomous driving, and a short demonstration showed its potential in relieving commuting stress. When combined with Bosch’s pending Automated Valet Parking system, Mercedes has integrated 2 technologies that remove the worst part of driving from the equation. Of course, there are a bunch of limitations to the Drive Pilot system: It only works on well-marked, multi-lane, divided highways at speeds under 40 mph. It must be daytime. There cannot be road construction, tunnels or toll booths. The weather cannot be inclement (rain is OK, snow is a no-go). The driver must stay in their seat. And the car will only drive in its existing lane. On a short drive (as a passenger) in a new S 580 4Matic along the choked Freeway, the Drive Pilot system comported itself flawlessly; essentially acting like the smartest of adaptive cruise controls. If the driver wanted to compose an e-mail or watch a video, the system allowed it. No need to keep a token finger on the wheel in order to stave off a warning every 15 seconds. My ‘driver’, Lucas Bolster, Mercedes R&D’s principal engineer of automated driving, says Drive Pilot has driven him hands-free and eyes-averted through a 65-minute rush hour on this same stretch of road. In our brief demo, acceleration and braking was smooth, without any lurching stops, and there was no ping-ponging between the lane markers. It was the best kind of chauffeur. At one point, a lane-jumper hinted at making inroads into our right-rear quarter-panel. The Drive Pilot adroitly swerved to the left-hand side of the lane. The system will take the car to the farthest edge of the lane marking, but will not change lanes if the other car’s incursion is insistent (that is a future development that Mercedes says is achievable). If a car intrudes in front of you, the Mercedes will politely make way. It won’t honk the horn in such an instance, but will if a car in front decides to reverse course toward you. The Level 3 system is a step up in autonomy from Mercedes’ existing Level 2 system that has active steering, braking, and distance control, but which requires a driver to maintain attention to the car. Level 3 means that the car assumes full control (and Mercedes’ legal department assumes liability) for the car’s actions. But it also requires the driver to be able to resume control with 10 seconds’ warning from the system – if not, the car slows to a stop and turns on its flashers. So sleep lightly. Drive Pilot will be optional in the S-Class and EQS. Pricing for the European market will be announced in April. When pressed on a ballpark range, a Mercedes spokesman said Drive Pilot will cost less than €10.000; the current price for Tesla’s still-inactive “full-self-driving” system. How does it work? Without getting too geeky, Drive Pilot uses a combination of long-range radar, long-range LiDAR, and stereo multi-purpose cameras. The key element is the LiDAR sensor and its AI signal processing, developed by supplier Valeo, that creates 25 images per second, can see 200 meters, and classifies and tracks each object. There is even a microphone that listens for sirens. To be truly Level 3, the system requires redundant steering, braking, and power supply. The AI of the system also learns quirks of the roads for OTA updates: Do Botts Dots reflect sunlight harshly at dusk on certain stretches of road? Do “traffic memory” slowdowns occur at certain times even when there’s been no accident? Then there is Intelligent Park Pilot (as Mercedes calls it), or Automated Valet Parking, as supplier Bosch calls it. This is dipping a toe into Level 4 autonomous driving, where a properly equipped car can enter a parking garage, find a space, and park itself with no one in the vehicle. The technology requires much more than a Level 3-equipped vehicle. The parking garage needs ground sensors to communicate the route with the car, cloud connectivity where there might not be Wi-Fi or cellular penetration below ground, as well as a phone app that allows car owners to reserve a parking spot, release control, and summon the car, said Mariana Eichel, Bosch AVP project manager. The system will require all cars, regardless of brand, to use the same communications protocol. So while Mercedes is the first to demonstrate the system (it was recently installed at Stuttgart Airport), Bosch has developed this to work with all cars. In a demonstration at a downtown Los Angeles hotel, a Mercedes EQS (with a driver) arrived at a specially marked drop zone in the porte cochère. After the driver exited the vehicle, the car then communicated with Bosch’s intelligent infrastructure, drove itself around a sharp bend (albeit at a crawl) and backed into an open parking spot. Why would a garage spend all this money (price not disclosed) to have this tech? Well, without valet parking attendants, there are no ongoing wage bills, and the insurance liability premiums for damaged cars likely would plummet. Plus, since no one needs to get into or out of a car parked autonomously, the vehicles can be packed in like sardines, allowing for more cars and hence more revenue. Bosch is also looking at the technology for rental-car parking lots at airports, where the car comes to you, rather than you searching for it, and puts itself away at the dropoff. Were you expecting more? Look, this is incremental technology. Regardless of Elon Musk’s boasts, there is no such thing as full self-driving. And there won’t be for years. This is an impressive next step. +++
+++ The MERCEDES-BENZ GROUP said on Friday it has opened a research and development (R&D) center in Shanghai that will focus on mobility technology. The center, its second R&D facility in China, will work in tech fields such as connectivity, automated driving and big data, the company said in a statement. Mercedes-Benz did not elaborate on the size of its investment in the new tech center, nor how many engineers it plans to eventually hire for the new location. It said in the statement it is “aiming to attract hundreds of new tech talents.” The establishment of a new Shanghai tech center follows a move last year by the German premium carmaker to significantly upgrade its R&D capabilities in Beijing, by opening a new R&D facility in China’s capital. With 1,000 engineers, the new Beijing tech facility is more than three times the size of the one Mercedes-Benz opened in 2014, and the first outside Germany that is more “on par” technically with the firm’s far bigger R&D headquarters near Stuttgart, a person close to the center said at the time. +++
+++ General Motors has made no secret of its goal to overtake Tesla and become the leading electric vehicle manufacturer in the United States by 2025. Ford has a similar target, although it seeks to overtake GM first and build 600.000 EVs a year by 2024 before challenging Tesla. We can now add STELLANTIS to the group of automakers looking to dethrone Tesla in the US, as CEO Carlos Tavares recently said he was confident the company he’s heading will catch up with the EV maker in the next couple of years. Speaking with reporters during a televised Q&A session organised by Mobility TV World and reported on by Reuters, the executive said that competition would benefit consumers. “I am very confident, I am trying not to be arrogant, just confident of the fact that we are going to catch up in the next couple of years with Tesla and it’s going to be a very healthy competition. Very good for the consumer, by the way”. Tavares’s comments may seem bold considering that Stellantis doesn’t have a single all-electric vehicle on sale in North America at the moment. The French-Italo-American conglomerate’s EV offensive will start next year in the US with the Ram ProMaster electric van, with three other models likely to launch in 2023: the small Jeep crossover that will be made in Italy as well as Maserati’s GranTurismo/GranCabrio sports cars and Grecale. These vehicles have been confirmed to launch next year in Europe, but it’s not yet clear when they will arrive stateside, although 2023 looks like a safe bet for the Maseratis. Moving on to 2024, Stellantis has 2 big EV debuts confirmed, the electric Ram 1500 pickup and Dodge muscle car. Also coming in 2024 are a Jeep off-roader and a Jeep lifestyle family SUV, with 2025 set to bring Chrysler’s first EV, described as a lifestyle family car. These are only a small part of the 25 new EVs Stellantis has pledged to launch in North America by 2030 as part of its Dare Forward 2030 plan. According to the recently announced strategy, which includes the launch of 75 battery-electric vehicle nameplates worldwide by 2030 (including 25 in the US), the company’s global annual sales should reach 5 million all-electric vehicles by the end of the decade. All of this sounds fantastic on paper, but turning these plans into action will be very difficult. Meanwhile, Tesla is here and has built more than 930.000 EVs in 2021 out of 2 factories, with 2 additional plants opening this year in Germany and Texas on March 21 and April 7, respectively. +++
+++ I’m pretty sure you’ve read enough about the TOYOTA GR YARIS to know that it’s a hoot. The little hot hatch can hold a candle against bigger, more powerful contenders but more importantly, it has a six-speed stick shift that enthusiasts from all over the world love. But just in case you want a rally-bred Yaris hatchback but with the convenience of an automatic, we have good news for you. Toyota is currently developing an 8-speed slushbox for the GR Yaris, and it has already made a public appearance at the Toyota Gazoo Rally Racing Challenge held recently in Japan. The GR Yaris with 8-speed automatic transmission is currently being developed. The prototype that made an appearance this week is numbered 109 and it’s visibly altered upfront to allow additional airflow to the auto gearbox oil cooler. The GR Yaris auto gearbox is a conventional torque converter automatic. Of course, it has a manual mode, which can be toggled through paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. Toyota said that it’s aimed not only for fuel efficiency but also for sporty drives. In fact, Toyota Motor Corporation’s vice chairman, Mr. Shigeru Hayakawa, was behind the wheel of the prototype that attended the Toyota Gazoo Rally Racing Challenge. He even jested that he already broke the transmission once, which part of the development stage. Despite being in development, this isn’t a confirmation that the production model will get the AT gearbox. If it will, the next question is when. And more importantly, will it ever reach Europe? Time will tell, but at least the bigger Toyota GR Corolla will likely make its debut this year. +++
+++ VOLKSWAGEN will introduce a new over-the-air update which the firm has described as “a big software facelift,” that will improve and introduce a host of new features to its ID model range. Some of the major changes that will be introduced with the update include new driver assistance systems, improved voice control, faster charging for some models and a new smart e-route planning application. Improvements will also be made to the range’s infotainment system, which will aim to solve latency issues present since the initial launch of the Volkswagen ID 3. Newly introduced systems include an improved travel assist and autonomous functions. The system can also switch lanes for the driver, change speeds automatically and provide support for roads with a single lane marking. A park assist function will also be introduced, which can parallel park at speeds of up to 40 kph, and 15 kph for regular bays. A memory function can also remember specific parking spaces, such as a garage. The smart e-route planner will allow for improved route guidance over long journeys, and the firm has described it as a “key function” that has been “dramatically improved”. Volkswagen says it takes traffic and obstruction data into account. and that it automatically plans the most efficient charging point access for the journey, rated by the available charging speed. Meanwhile, ID models with a 77 kWh battery and software 3.0 installed will be able to charge at a rate of 135 kW, which is a slight improvement over the previous maximum of 125 kW. Volkswagen claims this is thanks to improvements to the battery’s thermal management, which will also improve range in cold weather. A new battery care mode will also be added, which limits charging capacity to 80%. In addition, the German car brand has improved some of its display systems, including its optional augmented reality head-up display. The digital cockpit will also now display a battery charge percentage. The ID range’s voice control system has also been upgraded to a “premium level”, and Volkswagen claims its recognition quality is now at around 95%. “The new ID. Software 3.0 is an upgrade for our whole ID. family: we are taking our products to a new level of functionality because we are working faster, are more connected and are more customer-oriented”, said Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen board member for technical development. The ID 3.0 software will be available in April this year for over-the-air updates. All new ID models from April will have the new software installed prior to customers taking delivery of their cars. Volkswagen has also confirmed there has been interest from third parties about possible software integration, though it did not reveal any further details. The firm did reveal however that on-demand features are part of its business model going forward, and that possible features could include charging coupons. +++