Carmudi Monthly 014 | Page 21

The world-renowned German automotive giant BMW announced at the end of last December that it had managed to achieve its sales target of selling 100,000 electric vehicles worldwide by the end of 2017. The company noted that this achievement was largely due to the strong demand in both Western Europe and the United States, for vehicles running on renewable energy sources such as electricity.

Particularly the company’s B-class high-roof electric hatchback, the BMW i3 and the 2-series plug-in hybrid compact MPV, the Active Tourer, saw impressive demand

from consumers around the world

The company’s 2017 electric vehicle sales were more than a 60 percent increase from what it was able to achieve back in 2016, where the German luxury carmaker only managed to sell 62,255 electric cars. BMW mentioned that it expects 2018 electric-vehicle sales to grow by at least a two-digit percentage, hinting at the company’s renewed expectations for 2018.

The Bavarian carmaker was one of the pioneers in electric cars and took on Tesla Motors when it released the BMW i3 and the i8 back in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Nevertheless, the company stepped up its game last September and announced that it hopes to mass produce electric vehicles in the coming years.

Image Source: autocarindia.com

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BMW Achieved its Electric Vehicle Sales Target by Hitting the 100,000 Units’ Mark in 2017

Get Ready for Bentley’s Plug-In Hybrid Bentayga - Will Debut at the Geneva Motor Show

If you’re a fan of Bentley and its classic looking state of the art luxury supercars, then make sure to mark your calendar for the upcoming Geneva Motor Show this March. The UK based luxury car manufacturer announced this January that it will be releasing a brand new plug-in hybrid version of its highly popular all-wheel drive, five-door luxury SUV the Bentley Bentayga, at the Geneva Motor Show scheduled to be held in March 2018.

While details are scarce and the company is being quite secretive about the specifications of its upcoming new Bentayga, rumours have suggested that Bentley will most likely use a plug-in hybrid system that’s similar to what is seen on Porsche’s Panamera 4 E-Hybrid luxury sports sedan. The ultra-modern powertrain arrangement used in the Porsche Panamera comes with a powerful 2.9-litre, 326-hp, twin-turbo V-6 combustion engine that’s coupled with a 134-hp electric motor, which offers an impressive combined power output of more than 456-hp and 700 N.m of torque to turn its wheels. In fact, the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid sedan, when fully charged, can drive up to 48 km on its electric powertrain alone, which can give us a good idea on what to expect from Bentley’s new Plug-In Hybrid Bentayga.

Image Source: thetorquereport.com

Image Source: electricvehiclesresearch.com