BMW Shows It Can Own Core EV Technology; Maserati May Buy It from Others

As electrification, software, and AI reshape cars, automakers need to own and control the core technology that determines how their products develop and understand the components they buy well enough to integrate them. BMW’s Gen6 high-voltage battery received a technology award at the World New Energy Vehicle Congress in China, a meaningful sign the company is able to develop and integrate competitive core EV technology. BMW says it was the only automaker from outside China to receive one of this year’s technology awards.

The award moves the read of BMW's Neue Klasse Bet, adding technical credibility to a product case that early iX3 orders had already strengthened. Software quality over the vehicle's life, margins at scale, and whether iX3 L interest in China turns into deliveries are still open.

Road & Reason now has Watch List posts to capture events that are noteworthy for the in-focus brands. A new Industry section organizes those developments around cross-brand topics—currently China, Differentiation, and Economics—and connects the topics to relevant brand Big Questions.

The initial Watch List items highlight different approaches to technology and control. Maserati reportedly plans to use Huawei technology and JAC engineering and manufacturing for new SUV and GT models. BMW is investing to retain control and expertise over important parts of its EV system; under the reported arrangement, Maserati would instead put much of the technology, engineering, and manufacturing in partners’ hands.

The flow of capability also runs outward from China: XPENG is taking its flagship SUV into global markets and localizing production in Europe.

GM’s decision to make more room for CarPlay in its latest trucks shows a different technology control tradeoff: automakers may want greater control over the in-car experience and customer relationship, but customers generally expect CarPlay, and only a small number of sufficiently differentiated brands, like Tesla and Rivian, have gotten away with not offering it.

McLaren plans to invest £500 million in its UK operations and expand beyond sports cars with an SUV, hybrid coupe, and GT. McLaren says it needs growth to lower its costs and improve profitability. Porsche and Ferrari have faced versions of the same challenge: there is an economic—and sometimes survival—ceiling as a sports-car company, but expanding the lineup risks weakening the brand and product identity that make the expansion valuable.

The Ferrari brand page and its initial Current Read are also now live; its Big Questions will follow.

In This Week’s Read

BMW · Neue Klasse Bet Updated

• BMW’s Gen6 Battery Award Bolsters Its Credibility in Core EV Technology

Watch List · 4 items