EV price decline

Gaming and driving

THE BMW Group is partnering with the gaming platform AirConsole to bring a unique kind of incar gaming to the road for the first time in the new BMW 5 Series.

It allows the driver and passengers to play socalled casual games while the vehicle is stationary as a way of passing time while waiting for the vehicle to charge, for example.

UK used Electric Vehicle (EV) prices continue to decline in the wake of supply surge, but growing affordability fuels strong demand.

According to the latest data from the Auto Trader Retail Price Index, the average price of a used car increased 2.8 per cent last month to £17,815, making May the 38th consecutive month of year ­ on ­ year (YoY) retail price growth.

Although it’s the largest YoY increase in six months, potential retail growth remains constrained by used EV prices, which fell 18.6 per cent in May, as the huge surge of stock entering the market (up 201 per cent YoY in May) continues to outpace very robust levels of consumer demand (up 44 per cent YoY). Market dynamics of high demand and low sup­ ply in the used EV sector last year, which caused prices to rise, meaning that current price drops largely represent a recalibration. Despite marking the highest rate of YoY retail price contraction recorded by the Index, there are signs of used EV values beginning to stabilise, with the rate of decline only marginally greater than the ­18.1 per cent drop seen in April.

For the in­car gaming experience, the players simply need their smartphone, which acts as a controller, and the BMW Curved Display. After starting the AirConsole app in the vehicle, the connection between the smartphone and the vehicle is intuitively established by scanning a QR code on the Curved Display. Then players can get straight down to playing.