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BMW is gearing up to launch its first Neue Klasse model later this year, promising 30% faster charging and at least 30% more range. Starting with the new iX3, BMW says an “unprecedented ramp-up” is coming as it prepares to unleash over 40 new and updated models by 2027.

BMW’s new iX3 will arrive by the end of 2025

Although BMW Group deliveries fell 4% last year with 2.45 million vehicles delivered globally, the German automaker is betting heavily on its next-generation EVs to help turn things around.

“With the Neue Klasse, we are implementing the biggest future-focused project in the history of our company,” CEO, Oliver Zipse, said on Friday.

BMW confirmed the first Neue Klasse model, the iX3 will debut later this year. It will kick off “an unprecedented ramp-up” of over 40 new and updated vehicles set to arrive by 2027.

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All will be based on a new “Digital Nervous System” and “Heart of Joy” advanced ECU which will deliver drastic improvements in range, charging speeds, efficiency and more.

The digital nervous system is a new zonal architecture consisting of four “super-brains,” or high-performance computers, that power everything from the infotainment system to the driving dynamics and self-driving capabilities.

BMW's-new-iX3-EV
BMW Neue Klasse EV tech stack (Source: BMW Group)

BMW claims the new system provides over 20 times more in-car computing power than its current vehicles. The new ECU, Heart of Joy, integrates the drivetrain and driving dynamics, increasing overall efficiency by up to 25%.

Combined with its sixth-gen eDrive technology, BMW said the advanced new tech reduces energy loss by 40% and weight by 10%.

BMW's-new-iX3-EV
(Source: BMW Group investor presentation)

BMW said that using cylindrical battery cells and an 800V system will deliver “20% higher energy density, 30% faster charging and at least 30% more range.” The company also aims to reduce battery pack costs by 40% to 50%.

Following the new iX3, BMW will launch the next-gen i3, an electric sedan that’s expected to compete with the new Mercedes CLA EV and Tesla Model 3.

BMW-EV-sales
(Source: BMW Group investor presentation)

Despite global sales slipping, BMW’s EVs remained the main growth driver. With an all-electric vehicle in every segment, BMW sold over 426,500 EVs last year, representing over 17% of total sales. In Europe, EV share is now over 20%. At MINI, roughly one in four vehicles is electric, while at Rolls-Royce, it’s one in three.

With its Neue Klasse vehicles rolling out, starting with the new iX3, BMW expects EVs to account for over 50% of global sales by 2030.

Ahead of its official debut, BMW gave us a closer look at the highly anticipated iX3 and i3 during the final stages of testing (see the teaser).

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 disappoints with hallucinations, brake stabbing, and speeding

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 disappoints with hallucinations, brake stabbing, and speeding

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) v14, its first major update in a year, disappoints as data points to a lower increase in miles between disengagements than expected.

The system also features new hallucinations, brake stabbing, and excessive speeding.

Earlier this month, Tesla began rolling out its Full Self-Driving (FSD) v14 software update to some customers.

The update has been highly anticipated for several reasons.

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First off, it has been a year since Tesla released any significant FSD update to customers, as it focused on its internal robotaxi fleet in Austin. The update is believed to feature improvements developed through Tesla’s robotaxi fleet, which requires supervising like its consumer FSD.

Secondly, CEO Elon Musk has claimed that Tesla still plans for “Supervised Full Self-Driving” to become unsupervised by the end of the year in consumer vehicles. For that to happen, we needed to see a massive improvement from v13 to v14.

As I previously reported, I anticipated an improvement in miles between critical disengagements from ~400 miles in v13 to ~800 to 1,200 miles in v14. It would be a significant improvement, but still way short of what’s needed to make FSD unsupervised.

Tesla notoriously doesn’t release any data about its FSD program. Musk has literally told people to rely on anecdotal experiences posted on social media to gauge progress.

Fortunately, there’s a crowdsourced dataset that gives us some data to track progress with miles between critical disengagement. It’s far from perfect, but it is literally the best data available, and Musk himself has shared the dataset in the past – albeit while misrepresenting it.

In the last week, Tesla started pushing the FSD v14 update (now v14.1.4) to more owners – resulting in more crowdsourced data and anecdotal evidence.

With now over 4,000 miles of FSD v14 data, miles between critical disengagement sits about 732 miles – below the lower end of our expectations:

Tesla would need to be closer to 10,000 miles between critical disengagements to allow unsupervised operation, and even then, it would likely be in geo-fenced areas with speed limitations.

This is unlikely to happen by the end of the year, as Musk predicted, as FSD v14 appears to have some significant issues still.

First off, many FSD v14 drivers are reporting that the update is having problems with hallucinations where the car decides to stop on the side of the road seemingly randomly:

It does seem like FSD v14 sometimes misinterprets other vehicles’ turn signals as emergency vehicle lights and pulls over.

In some cases, FSD v14 has been known to completely disable FSD features inside vehicles:

Many FSD v14 drivers have also reported an increase in “brake stabbing”, where the vehicle seems to hesitate and frantically applies the brakes and releases them – resulting in a stabbing motion.

As previously reported, Tesla also brought back its ‘Mad Max’ mode in FSD v14, which allows for driving exceedingly over the speed limit.

Electrek’s Take

Now, I don’t want to hear anything about my use of anecdotal evidence and crowdsourced data. That’s literally the best data available for FSD.

Unlike virtually all other companies developing self-driving technology, Tesla refuses to release any.

If it were to release some data, I’d be happy to use it.

One thing is clear from v14 so far: unsupervised FSD in consumer vehicles is not happening in any meaningful way this year.

I expect significant improvements in upcoming FSD v14 point updates. Maybe enough to get it to my previous expectations of ~800 to 1,200 miles between disengagements, but that’s about it.

Finally, while I generally don’t count on NHTSA to enforce any rule in any significant way when it comes to Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” effort, I think they might actually do something about “Mad Max.”

This video on Instagram has 4.5 million views, and it shows extremely dangerous driving behavior at up to 90 mph (145 km/h)

I think the authorities will have to intervene here, because it makes no sense for an unproven autonomous driving system to be able to operate under those parameters.

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The Toyota Corolla EV is bringing a sharp new look, but that’s just the start [Images]

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The Toyota Corolla EV is bringing a sharp new look, but that's just the start [Images]

Toyota’s best-selling car is finally going electric. The Corolla EV looks more like a Porsche or BMW than the Toyota vehicles on the road today, but that’s just the start.

The Toyota Corolla is evolving into a rad-looking EV

After revealing the Corolla Concept for the first time at the Japan Mobility Show on Tuesday, Toyota’s CEO, Koji Sato, said the compact car has always been “a car for everyone.”

Since it hit the market over 50 years ago, Toyota has sold well over 50 million Corollas. The Corolla even surpassed the VW Beetle in the 90s to become the world’s best-selling vehicle. Like the Prius, Toyota’s compact car lured in buyers with an affordable price and a reputation as a reliable daily driver.

Although it’s still a top-seller, the Corolla has lost some of its charm as more advanced, stylish, and efficient electric cars hit the market.

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Toyota looks to change that with a drastic overhaul that takes the Corolla to the next level. To stay relevant, Sato asked the crowd at the event, “How should the Corolla evolve?”

Toyota-Corolla-EV-reveal
Toyota CEO Koji Sato reveals the Corolla Concept at the Japan Mobility Show (Source: Toyota)

We all want to drive a car that looks cool, but there’s much more to it nowadays. Buyers are increasingly seeking more efficient vehicles with the latest software, connectivity technology, and other features.

“Whether it’s a battery EV, plug-in hybrid, hybrid, or internal combustion engine vehicle―whatever the power source―let’s make good-looking cars that everyone will want to drive!” Toyota’s CEO said, adding the car is “packed with inventions aimed at making that a reality.”

Although Toyota didn’t confirm the concept was headed for production, the next-gen Corolla is expected to arrive with a similar style.

The concept still features Toyota’s newest design elements, like the “hammerhead” front end, but with a bit more of a futuristic feel.

You can barely tell the concept is a Corolla, aside from the massive COROLLA badging on the rear. Toyota didn’t reveal any powertrain details, but the charge port and closed-off grille suggest it’s an EV.

The next-gen Toyota Corolla is expected to be offered as an EV, a plug-in hybrid, a hybrid, and, likely, still an ICE variant.

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Uber chooses first market to deploy its Lucid Gravity robotaxis featuring Nuro Driver

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Uber chooses first market to deploy its Lucid Gravity robotaxis featuring Nuro Driver

Three months after Uber, Lucid Motors, and Nuro announced a partnership that would enable Gravity SUV robotaxis, the rideshare network has shared where the public will first be able to hail one. Spoiler alert, it’s easy to guess if you give it half a thought.

As we reported in July, Uber Technologies committed to a $300 million investment in Lucid Group (parent company of American EV automaker Lucid Motors), to deploy at least 20,000 Lucid vehicles as robotaxis over the next six years.

Those Lucid vehicles, which will consist of the automaker’s flagship Gravity SUV to begin, will hit public roads equipped with a Level 4 autonomous system called Nuro Driver. Nuro, the third partner in this equation, is a robotics company specializing in zero-occupant delivery vehicles, which garnered an existing partnership with Uber Eats as well as a “hefty” (yet undisclosed) investment from Uber Technologies.

Last month, Lucid delivered its first Gravity SUV to Nuro to begin the retrofitting process of the Nuro Driver system to support Uber’s hopes for a luxe robotaxi fleet. While the partners continue to work toward building an exciting new fleet of Lucid Gravity Robotaxis, Uber has shared the location where they will first go into service… Casper, Wyoming.

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Just kidding!

It’s the San Francisco Bay Area, of course.

Lucid-first-EV-Uber
Lucid Gravity SUV fitted with Nuro’s self-driving tech (Source: Lucid)

Uber to deploy Lucid Gravity EVs in Bay Area in 2026

Today’s update from Uber expands upon the ongoing partnership with Lucid Group and Nuro. According to the companies, the San Francisco Bay Area will be the first market where riders will see this next-generation autonomous robotaxi program in operation. That milestone is expected sometime in 2026.

Uber has shared that it has been updating policymakers and regulators at every level on the progress of its exclusive Lucid Robotaxis and continues to meet the operational requirements. Notably, Uber has shared that on-road development with the Lucid Gravity robotaxi engineering fleet is already underway in the Bay Area.

Furthermore, Nuro and Lucid intend to be operating over 100 Gravity robotaxis as part of the test fleet “in the coming months.” Lucid interim CEO, Marc Winterhoff, spoke about today’s announcement:

Lucid has always celebrated its California roots, and we’re thrilled to make the San Francisco Bay Area the first market for our new robotaxi on the Uber platform, powered by the Nuro Driver. Beginning next year, riders will experience a level of convenience, safety, and comfort unlike anything else on the road. We can’t wait to bring this service to life and expand it to communities across the country.

To build this fleet of Uber-exclusive robotaxis, the required hardware will be integrated into Lucid Gravity SUVS while they are still on Lucid’s assembly line in Arizona. Those builds will then be integrated with Nuro’s proprietary software when Uber officially commissions them.

All eyes on 2026 as we now know that residents around the Bay Area will be able to hail a driverless Lucid Gravity through the Uber platform. I’m very much looking forward to seeing this fleet in action.

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