Tarmac Life | Motoring | Tech

BMW opens new US battery assembly plant to support electric vehicle production

Harry de Souza 15 November 2026

BMW Group has officially opened its new high-voltage battery assembly plant in Woodruff, South Carolina, marking another milestone in the company’s expansion of electric vehicle production in the United States. The facility will manufacture their sixth generation (aptly named Gen6) high voltage battery packs for electric vehicles assembled at BMW’s Spartanburg plant, including

New Zealand EV & Tech Expo – Is This The Moment EVs Finally Click With Kiwis?

Dave McLeod 15 November 2026

From electric super-cars and adventure-ready SUVs to commercial vans, battery upgrades and cars that could one day power your home, New Zealand’s first EV & Tech Expo had plenty to plug into. And there’s one thing that became abundantly clear – the EV conversation has changed. Let’s be honest, there was a time

Suzuki NZ Launches Certified Used Programme

Dave McLeod 15 November 2026

Because Peace of Mind Shouldn’t End at the Showroom Buying a used car can sometimes feel like a bit of a lottery. But Suzuki New Zealand is looking to stack the odds firmly in the buyer’s favour with the launch of its new Certified Used Vehicle Programme. Designed to give second-hand Suzuki buyers

AutoMobility LA 2026 Sets Energy, Autonomy and Entertainment as Its Industry Day Themes

Dave McLeod 14 November 2026

AutoMobility LA’s 19 November media and industry day in Los Angeles is organised around energy, autonomy and entertainment, with registration now open. Industry days rarely reach beyond the trade press, but the organisers of AutoMobility LA want their November event to set the agenda for the year ahead. Registration for the 2026 edition

Jaeger-LeCoultre Unveils Eighth Collectibles Capsule Focused on American-Market Watches

Dave McLeod 14 November 2026

Jaeger-LeCoultre is presenting nine restored mid-century watches made for the United States in New York, with the pieces available to collectors worldwide. For a time, many of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s watches sold in America carried a different name: LeCoultre. That chapter is the focus of the eighth capsule in The Collectibles, a series of restored,

Audi A2 e-tron Adds Bidirectional Charging, With Grid Feed-In Planned for Later

Dave McLeod 14 November 2026

Audi says the A2 e-tron can power external devices and a home from its battery, while feeding energy back into the public grid is planned for the future. An electric car battery is usually thought of as a way to move the car. Audi wants the A2 e-tron’s battery to do more, using

YANGWANG U9 Xtreme’s 503.17km/h record gets the Burj Khalifa treatment

Dave McLeod 14 November 2026

A 503.17km/h electric-car record deserves a big celebration. YANGWANG brought the U9 Xtreme’s headline-making run to Dubai, where a light and projection show turned the Burj Khalifa into the centrepiece of an event attended by around 3,000 international media and VIP guests. The record was set on 1 November on Sheikh Khalifa Bin

BMW i3 covers almost 5,900km across Europe with less than three hours of charging

Harry de Souza 13 November 2026

BMW is flexing the new i3 50 xDrive’s long distance capability, completing a 5,886.7 km journey from Norway’s North Cape to Tarifa in southern Spain with a total charging time of just 2 hours and 46 minutes. That’s shocking. The journey crossed eight European countries, using publicly accessible charging infrastructure along the route.

Mazda advances development of microalgae renewable diesel

Harry de Souza 13 November 2026

Mazda is continuing its research into renewable diesel produced from microalgae, with its development project selected for a Japanese government program supporting the commercialisation of technologies working towards energy saving. Working alongside Idemitsu Kosan, Mazda is investigating the production of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) using lipids extracted from microalgae. The project covers the

Mercedes-Benz CLA Gets A Whole New Attitude – Electric, Hybrid And Packed With Tech

Dave McLeod 13 November 2026

The little Mercedes-Benz sedan has grown up, gone electric and developed a rather impressive digital brain. The all-new CLA is heading to New Zealand with two powertrain choices, next-generation technology and a design that puts efficiency firmly in the spotlight. There’s a new CLA coming to town, and Mercedes-Benz has given its compact