Solarwatt & BMW, Toyota & Mazda, GM, Power Plaza, Formula E.

Stefan Quandt vs. Elon Musk? According to German Manager Magazine, major BMW shareholder Stefan Quandt could give Elon Musk a run for his money. Together with company Solarwatt, in which Quandt also holds major stakes, he wants to introduce the home energy storage system “MyReserve” in June. Unlike Tesla’s system, this is said to be compatible with all inverters and solar energy systems and could even arrive on the market earlier than the Tesla battery. Due to the involvement of BMW’s i-brand, “everything from solar panels over batteries to electric cars” could be handled in one place.
manager-magazin.de (in German), solarwatt.de

Japanese alliance: Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei reports that Toyota will allow its competitor Mazda to make use of its fuel cell and hybrid technologies. In return, Toyota will be granted access to Mazda’s Skyactiv technology, used to increase the efficiency of gasoline- and diesel-powered cars.
nikkei.com

Target won’t be met: GM says that it will fall short of its goal of selling a total of 500,000 electrified vehicles (from mild hybrids to EVs) by 2017. A mere 180,834 were sold through the end of 2014.
detroitnews.com, greencarreports.com, autoblog.com

Korean EV with long range: Power Plaza introduced its Yebbujana R at the EVS 28 that can go up to 571 kilometers on one charge at a speed of 60 km/h (37 mph). The all-electric car weighs only 745 kilos and will become available in South Korea at the end of 2016 at a price of around 40,000 dollars.
nikkeibp.co.jp

Formula E gets new sponsor: Visa Europe announced that is on board for financing the inaugural 2014/2015 season of the electric racing series. Europe’s leading payment provider was a partner of the ePrix race in Monaco and will be for Berlin and London.
electriccarsreport.com

Buemi wins Monaco ePrix: Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi (e-dams Renault) won the inaugural Monaco Formula E race on Saturday, finishing ahead of Brazil’s Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT) for his second win of the season. The race began with a multiple car crash on the run out of Saint Devote.
motorsport.com, youtube.com (highlights)

Testing the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell: Matt Joy calls this car a “revolution” and compares it to the Book of Genesis. He adds that the only thing speaking against buying the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell is the lack of hydrogen filling stations – which Joy hopes will increase with FCV sales.
uk.cars.yahoo.com