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New tech will make them lighter and boost their capacity, says BMW by  Mark Tisshaw BMW  expects a breakthrough in battery technology in 2026, by which time it plans to have solid-state batteries ready for production in its models. The batteries will use lithium ion technology but swap liquid electrolytes for solid ones, with initial targets being for a 15-20% increase in capacity. Other benefits include less weight and a reduction in the amount of safety protection needed due to the reduced fire risk. This also allows for the packaging and housing of the batteries to be revisited. The batteries are in development but 10 years away from production, with long-term durability testing cited as a key reason for the delay. The next development in the refinement of BMW’s existing battery technology will arrive in 2018 in time for the launch of the  Mini Cooper E  and the all-electric version of the next-generation  BMW X3 . BMW will continue to develop its internal combustion engin

Five year investment period with AI start-up Argo will lead up to 2021 - the date Ford has set for the launch of its self-driving car Ford  has announced plans to invest $1 billion into an artificial intelligence start-up called Argo AI, as the company accelerates development of fully autonomous cars. The $1 billion investment will be seeded over a five-year period, with the marque planning to launch a vehicle capable of driving itself completely by 2021.  •  Self-driving cars: Everything you need to know Founded by former  Google  and  Uber  engineers, who were working on self-driving projects at those companies, Argo AI will be tasked with developing the software platform for Ford’s production self-driving system. Ford engineers are to be placed within the start-up firm. The technology which will be created by the collaboration may not be limited to just Ford vehicles either – the manufacturer says it could be licenced to others in the future as well.  •  Opinion: Ford's sm

David Shepard Toyota's automated driving technology test vehicle on a Lexus vehicle displayed in Tokyo in Nov. 2014.  Photo credit: BLOOMBERG WASHINGTON -- General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. officials will tell a U.S. House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes to automotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads. "Without changes to those regulations, it may be years before the promise of today’s technology can be realized and thousands of preventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen," Mike Abelson, vice president of global strategy at GM, said in written testimony released Monday. "It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greater numbers." On Monday, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Senator John Thune, the Republican chairman of the Commerce Committee, said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that "clears hurdles and advances innova

Steve Kovach   Chris Urmson, Google's former head of self-driving cars.Reuters/Stephen Lam GOOG Alphabet-C  819.24 5.57 (+0.70 %) Disclaimer Get real-time GOOG charts here » Google's parent company, Alphabet, lost some of its leading self-driving-car experts because they were offered large payouts based on the valuation of the company's self-driving-car division,  according to a new Bloomberg report . The large payouts gave the employees little incentive to stay at the company, and some left to begin their own self-driving-car startups and initiatives. Essentially, the staff members were paid so much that they quit, the Bloomberg report says. To be clear, it's likely the large payouts weren't the only factor that caused the employees to quit, but it appears to be a significant reason. A spokesperson for Waymo, the self-driving-car company that launched under Alphabet, declined to comment on the report. It's unclear how much the payouts were or who rec

The range-topping variant of the existing G-Class is set for a Geneva debut early next month; due on sale in late 2017 by  Greg Kable The Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet, a range-topping version of  Mercedes' G-Class , will act as a farewell to the current-generation model when it goes on sale later this year.  The plush four-seater military-grade SUV is the latest in a burgeoning number of high-priced models from the German car maker’s revived  Maybach  sub-brand. Set to make its public debut at the  Geneva motor early  next month, the 621bhp twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre V12 powered limousine-cum-off-roader foreshadows the launch of a heavily upgraded version of the 38-year-old G-class later this year. It features a semi-convertible roof structure similar in style to that adopted by the Maybach 62 Landaulet launched in 2007.   Based around the long-wheelbase G-class with the widened body, modified running gear and portal axle chassis from both the G63 6x6 and more recently