Denso 234-4232 Oxygen Sensor on 2040-parts.com

Design Essay: BMW i – Setting the industry agenda for the next decade

Many have already dismissed BMW i as a radical experiment too far ahead of its time, but looking beyond the glossy carbon fiber facade reveals three ways it will change the automotive landscape during the next decade: 1. Re-define the EV category Despite Tesla, Nissan, GM, Renault and Toyota all operating in the EV space, global sales in 2012 totaled just 54,000. Many put this down to high-cost and range anxiety, but another key factor is nearly always overlooked.

News watch December 2012: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Monday 31 December 2012• Despite reports earlier this month that shareholders valued Mercedes-Benz at half that of its luxury rival BMW, Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche has remained bullish about his ambitious targets for the carmaker's growth. 'I am confident that we will be ahead of our rivals by 2020 at the latest,' he told German newspaper Boersen-Zeitung in an interview.

Toyota Yaris HSD Concept (2011): full photo gallery

Toyota’s goal is to offer a hybrid powertrain in every one of its European models ‘as early as possible in the 2020s’. That means electrified drivetrains in everything from the Avensis to the Auris, and everything from 4x4s to sports cars in between. The Auris HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) was the first mainstream Toyota model to gain hybrid power in 2010, and up next is the new-generation Yaris.