Car News from Germany
News from the German premium segment - BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volkswagen Group, and Porsche.
BMW has issued two recalls for the iX3, the first car on its Neue Klasse platform. A faulty onboard charger on 145 cars risks electric shock during charging; a separate action covers 4,843 cars over incorrectly fitted side airbags. No injuries reported.
Audi has unveiled the new Q7 on the MLB Evo platform, built in Bratislava. Europe gets a 3.0 V6 turbodiesel with 48V mild hybrid (245 or 299 hp) and quattro; the US gets a 435 hp 2.9 twin-turbo petrol, plus a 600 hp V8 SQ7. Five to seven seats, three displays. Pre-orders from June, from €87,900.
Audi has revealed the Nuvolari, its R8 successor, named after racing driver Tazio Nuvolari and limited to 499 cars. It shares the Lamborghini Temerario platform but uses Audi's own body and tuning, with a twin-turbo V8 and three electric motors for 1001 hp.
BMW now offers the M2 with M xDrive, a first for the smallest M coupe. The S58 engine is updated for Euro 7 and makes 480 hp, the 0-100 km/h time drops to 3.7 seconds, and the front axle can be switched off for rear-drive drifts. From €81,300.
The last BMW Z4 rolled off the line at Magna's plant in Graz, Austria. BMW has no Z-series roadster in its product plan. The Z lineage ran from 1991 to 2026.
Mercedes-Benz has revealed the updated GLE and GLE Coupé. The headline change is a new MBUX Superscreen spanning three 12.3-inch panels. Several four-cylinder engines have been dropped in favour of inline-sixes and hybrids.
Taycan sales dropped 22% in 2025 to 16,339 units, then a further 19% in Q1 2026. The Zuffenhausen factory has been running with intermittent shutdowns since early May.
The electric successor to the V8 GT 4-door uses a dedicated AMG platform, 106 kWh battery, and tri-motor setup producing up to 1169 hp. Sales begin before end of 2026.
BMW created a version of the M3 CS that shouldn't exist on paper - manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive only, no AWD option. Power is down 70 hp from the standard CS to make the combination work. 26 kg lighter than a standard manual M3, full CSL suspension, deliveries autumn 2026. Price: $107,100.
The mid-cycle update keeps the exterior almost unchanged but rewrites the interior around a curved dual-screen unit. Highlights include the 45 e-tron Sportback's 592 km WLTP range, 185 kW DC charging, and a new V2L/V2H function that turns the car into a mobile power source.
Audi updated the Q4 E-Tron for MY2027. Three variants, two body styles. New: V2L charging (first for an Audi EV), 185 kW DC on 82 kWh variants, merged instrument/multimedia display. Physical climate controls removed. Orders open in Europe from June 2026, from €47,500.
The petrol Macan outsells the electric version - 10,130 of 18,209 Macans sold in Q1 2026 were combustion-engined. Porsche is discontinuing it anyway. Leipzig production ends summer 2026; a combustion replacement on Audi Q5 III underpinnings arrives in 2028 under a different name.
The production version of the 2023 ID.2all concept. BEV, FWD, three variants from 116 to 211 hp, starting from €24,995 in Germany. Base sales from summer 2026.