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2025 BMW 4 Series

BMW presented the redesigned 4 Series Gran Coupé and i4 Gran Coupé that now come with more power. Both refreshed editions come a few months after the introduction of redesigned Coupé and Cabrio versions of the same BMW 4 Series.

Both versions come with lower LED front light housings, new 19″ and 20″ rims, rear light housings with laser technology taken over from the M4 CSL model and a new multimedia system. Also, the turbo-petrol engines have been improved, which are now assisted by a 48-volt mild hybrid system that brings an additional 11 hp.

The BMW 430i Gran Coupé is powered by a 2.0L four-cylinder turbo gasoline engine that produces 255 hp (290 kW), instead of the previous 245 hp (183 kW), and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of torque. BMW claims that this version consumes less fuel than its predecessor. Power is sent to the rear or all wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission.

The BMW M440i Gran Coupé is powered by a 3.0L 6-cylinder turbo gasoline engine with 386 hp (288 kW) and 398 lb-ft (540 Nm) of maximum torque, instead of the previous 382 hp (285 kW) and 369 lb-ft ( 500 Nm) of torque. Power is sent to the rear or all wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission.

The BMW i4 Gran Coupé (40 eDrive) is powered by a single electric motor with 340 hp and 430 Nm of torque, while the more powerful M50 version is powered by two electric motors that combine to produce 544 hp and 795 Nm of torque. Both versions are equipped with an 83.9 kWh battery that provides a range of 590 km (40 eDrive), and the more powerful version (M50) has a range of up to 520 kilometers.

Both versions (Series 4 Gran Coupé and i4 Gran Coupé) are equipped with a large curved display behind which is BMW’s new iDrive 8.5 multimedia system, which in the i4 version comes with a map of battery charging stations.

Production of the refreshed BMW Series 4 Gran Coupé and i4 Gran Coupé starts in a few months.

Source: BMW

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2025 BMW 4 Series
News

Car sales in the EU drop by 5.2%

The price of new cars is on the rise and so is the demand. Customers are looking for compact and fuel-efficient cars, especially hybrids. However, last month car sales in the EU dropped by 5.2 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

According to ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association), last month’s sales led to a change in the market structure, so electric cars now have a 13% market share (-0.9%), while hybrid cars recorded a growth of 4.6% (29 %). Gasoline and diesel cars still have a high market share of 47.8 percent, although they recorded a decline of 4%.

In March, 134,397 electric cars were sold on the EU market, which is 11.3 percent less than in 2023. The German market recorded the biggest drop of 28.9 percent, while demand for BEVs in Belgium and France increased (+23.8% / 10.9%).

When it comes to hybrids, France and Italy are one of the biggest markets for these cars, where demand grew by 29.6% (France) and 8.3% (Italy). This segment achieved sales of 299,426 units (29 percent of the market). Demand for plug-in hybrids dropped by 6.5% in March, with 73,029 PHEV vehicles sold. It should be noted that Belgium (-15.3%) and Germany (-4.5%) had the worst results. France is one of the few countries that managed to achieve sales growth (3.6%).

Diesel and gasoline cars had the worst results. Sales of gasoline cars fell by 10.2%, the most in France (-17.7%), Spain (-10.1%) and Germany (-3.4%), while Italy was the only one to record growth (5.7%). Also, diesel cars had a drop in demand of 18.5%, mostly in France (-32.1%), Spain (-38%) and Italy (-27.6%), while in Germany demand fell by 0.5%.

Source: ACEA

News

This diesel engine has a thermal efficiency of more than 53 percent

In 1897, the first diesel engine was built with an effective efficiency of 26.2%. Since then, scientists have been trying to increase its efficiency, which until recently was between 30 and 50%. However, the Chinese company Weichai Power presented at the World Congress on Internal Combustion Engines the first ever diesel engine with an intrinsic thermal efficiency of more than 53 percent.

Engine thermal efficiency is the percentage of diesel combustion energy transferred into usable engine work without the need for a waste heat recovery mechanism. In 2020, the Chinese company presented its diesel engine with a thermal efficiency of 50.23 percent, and two years later the efficiency increased to 52.28 percent.

In 500 days of work, the research team achieved the optimization of four vital systems: fuel supply, air intake, combustion and friction reduction. This resulted in a higher thermal efficiency of the engine, but also a higher economy of the engine, which in this case is nearly 14%. The team has effectively advanced high expansion combustion, pressurized mixed flow, highly efficient fuel injection and low drag friction reduction technology.

How significant this achievement is is shown by the fact that it would lead to annual fuel savings of around 30 million tons and a reduction in carbon emissions by almost 100 million tons. If we consider individual vehicles, a heavy tractor with an annual mileage of 250,000 km can save about 12,000 gallons/45,425 liters of fuel thanks to this technology. That would mean an additional nearly $13,500 for the owner, based on current fuel prices.

It should be noted that during the research and development phase, the team received 176 patents for inventions and 68 patents for utility models.

Source: Reuters