BMW is gaga for hydrogen

Plus Porsche goes public, Lady Gaga drinks Dom [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hello you lovely reader you. It’s me, [Hannah Elliott](, here once again to talk about cars. Let’s discuss [BMW AG](. In recent weeks the Munich-based automaker has announced significant strategy changes, billion-dollar investments, and introduced new products that will affect the course of the company for years to come. From where I sit, it indicates the outfit that once sold only airplane engines is OK staying flexible–and making some creative choices–during volatile times.  To wit: On Sept. 9, BMW announced it would [start buying electric batteries]( from factories in Europe, China and North America. The news of its supply-chain overhaul defines an alternative strategy to those at Tesla and Volkswagen AG, which produce battery cells in-house. King Charles III drives an electric MINI off the production line in Oxford during a 2021 visit. Photographer: Peter Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images On Oct. 15, the group announced it would move[manufacturing of its electric MINIs]( from the brand’s traditional heart–the United Kingdom–to China, citing inefficiencies of making electric and internal-combustion vehicles on the same production line. BMW also [said]( it would invest another $1 billion in its Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant to build six new EV models by 2030. And it committed an additional $700 million to build a nearby battery assembly facility using those sourced cells.  Meanwhile, it showed some potentially disruptive new cars. Delivering early 2023, a new high-performance hybrid. Source: BMW There’s the [BMW XM Hybrid](, a $159,000 crossover and the first EV from its specialized M line. And it unveiled the [M Hybrid V8](. That car will compete in the [24 Hours of Le Mans]( in 2024, where the brand hasn’t raced since 1999. Run by David Letterman’s race team, the M Hybrid V8 combines hybrid technology with–you guessed it–a V8 engine and may well indicate how we can expect BMW’s production hybrids to perform in the future. Responsible for the [racer’s official livery](, the company’s Designworks team is opening up a smaller yet airy new studio Nov. 7 in Santa Monica, California, created with a hybrid (ahem) work environment in mind. Just don’t call it a downsize, said BMW Group Design Director Adrian Von Hooydonk during a preview. (I’ll write more about that next week.) The Rolls-Royce Spectre is the first-ever electric vehicle from the 118-year-old brand, which BMW acquired in 1998. Source: Rolls-Royce And in the year’s biggest splash, the group recently debuted [an electric Rolls-Royce](, beating rival Bentley to the punch. Shown in a fascinating shade of chartreuse, Spectre has ultra-clean lines that make it look like an elegant version of the Wraith and a modern version of the Phantom Coupe. I look forward to driving the production model early next year. While in Goodwood for the reveal, Chairman Oliver Zipse told me that despite these investments, BMW isn’t betting everything on an all-electric future. It’s also [developing hydrogen systems](, technology largely discarded by the auto industry, including competitors Audi and Mercedes-Benz. The iX5 SUV concept, one of BMW’s attempts at hydrogen power. Source: BMW “The most important thing is that we stay very profitable despite the changes of the industry,” he said of the unusual decision, noting that war in Ukraine, loss of business in Russia due to sanctions, and raw material constraints have not diminished consumer demand for BMW vehicles. “With our approach, we are adaptable.” BMW is already building X5 hydrogen SUVs and soon will sell them on a global scale. Zipse said such vehicles will be the “hippest” things on the market. If the past six weeks are any indication, my sense is that he’s laying the groundwork to actually pull it off. Stay in touch with Hannah via [Twitter]( and [Instagram]( Elsewhere on the auto beat. [Audi Is Joining Formula One]( Team Sauber will pilot the brand on the popular racing circuit. [Faraday Future Is On the Brink]( Slashed salaries, shrinking cash reserves befuddle the EV startup. [An F1 Arcade Is Coming to London]( You’re not Lewis Hamilton. But you can have a cocktail and pretend. [How About a Midsized Plug-In Hummer Pickup?]( GM leans into demand for lower-emissions cars. [Weed Is Coming to Circle K Gas Stations]( Florida being Florida. That Porsche IPO Porsche AG is public—and with a great stock ticker, [P911](. In its trading debut Sept. 28, Porsche [hit a total valuation of $73 billion](, with $9.3 billion in proceeds for Volkswagen AG. It was Europe’s largest initial public offering in a decade and one of the more complex automotive offerings ever assembled. The proceeds from the sale will go to help fund the [€15 billion Porsche has committed]( to developing electric vehicles over the next decade. The sale also returned stronger and more [direct control to the billionaire Porsche and Piech families](, who had lost it in 2009 following a takeover attempt of VW that went horribly wrong. Wolfgang Porsche (front) in 1950 at the age of seven with his father, Ferry, and brothers Hans-Peter (left), Gerhard (right), and Ferdinand Alexander (in sunglasses), and a Porsche 356 Coupé. Source: Porsche AG Interestingly enough, the wild success of Porsche’s IPO wasn’t tempting for Zipse over at BMW, even though BMW like Porsche is controlled by an uber-wealthy German family, [the Quandts](. He didn’t exactly turn up his nose at the idea—he’s far too diplomatic for that—but close. “What would be the problem we are trying to solve with an IPO? Access to capital is not our problem,” Zipse told me when I asked whether BMW would ever try something similar. “We are the second-highest rated car company in the world. The only one rated just one notch higher is Toyota.” Fair enough. For now, we can let Porsche enjoy its victory lap. [Who’s Who in the Billionaire Porsche Family?]( [Porsche Is Now Europe’s Most Valuable Automaker]( [CEO Oliver Blume on Bloomberg TV]( [The 911 Will Keep Its Roaring Engine as Long as Possible]( [Guess Who Else Is Joining F1?]( [Stunt Driver Sera Trimble on How She Got Her Start—and Her Porsche 911]( Scheduled downtime. My new Sunday routine is staying home to recharge—and blasting Lou Rawls as I wake up in the morning. I love the smooth baritone of his voice and the showman-style way he uses it; his [Classics]( and [Best Of]( albums on vinyl are a great place to start. Or, I’ll select his [“You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine”]( on my iPhone and let the algorithm play more songs like it, which include favorites by the Isley Brothers, Bill Withers, and Prince. The volume at which you play it is directly proportional to how happy you’ll feel when you listen. A guaranteed way to brighten your day. Source: Vendor [As It Turns Out]( by Alice Sedgwick Wohl, the eldest sister of Edie Sedgwick of Warhol Factory fame, is captivating read. The new book is an intimate chronicle of the Sedgwick family from its East Coast origins and migration west to California. Wohl is a balanced, descriptive and introspective writer and in not shying away from the entitlement, advantages, abuse and dysfunction that shaped Edie into the society girl, highlights one sliver of an entire culture from a world long since disappeared—but with lasting effects today. That book sent me back to read the original “It Girl” tome, [Edie: American Girl](, by Sedgwick family friend Jean Stein and Paris Review co-founder George Plimpton. Written in 1982 by compiling first-hand accounts of dozens of people who were in the Factory scene, the bestseller has become one of the seminal works to record the 1960s in America. If you haven’t read it, do. So, you had some questions… Whatever the topic, keep them coming for next week via our [Bloomberg Pursuits Instagram]( and [e-mail](mailto:askpursuits@bloomberg.net?I%20have%20a%20question). What was it like spending the week in a haunted hotel? You must be referring to the newly reopened (after 11 years!) Chelsea Hotel in New York City. Two words: Loved it. The $100 million renovation of the 155-room property has a Bowery Hotel vibe (same ownership) and a glorious lobby bar that I frequented every night of my stay. The renovation even extended to the darkly handsome El Quijote restaurant next door. Patti Smith and Leonard Cohen called Hotel Chelsea home and I wouldn’t mind to either. Read all about it—and the ghosts—[in my Bloomberg Businessweek review](. Vibes vibes vibes. Photographer: Annie Schlechter Will I be able to drive my classic, gasoline-powered car in 10 years? 15? 20? Yes. As long as we have access to gasoline, we will be able to drive our classic cars. (I have two of them myself; I feel your pain.) Horseless carriages didn’t make the horse extinct, did they? Quartz watches and, later, the iPhone, haven’t meant people don’t buy mechanical watches, right? The same thing will happen with internal-combustion-engine cars. They’ll become collectible assets and toys for wealthy enthusiasts. Right now, [barely 4% of all new cars]( on the road are electric. Charging stations even in forward-thinking LA and San Francisco (the biggest EV markets in the nation) are scarce, often broken or occupied. That also doesn’t take into account the vast problems we already have with our power-grid even before people plug in their vehicles, which will massively overtax the already faulty system. So [despite the hype](, we still have a long way to go toward making everyone drive EVs. Gas will get expensive. It will get rare. But it won’t disappear altogether for a very long time. What’s the most “LA” party you’ve attended since you moved to California? That has to be the dinner and afterparty on Oct. 20 to celebrate the debut of [Dom Pérignon Rose Vintage 2008 Lady Gaga](, a limited edition [$550 bottle]( the company is releasing exclusively for the holidays. The Lady wore black. Photographer: Jojo Korsh/BFA.com Lady Gaga was there with sky-high platform stilettos and platinum hair in a punk-French twist. She spoke for a few minutes during dinner to welcome the 74 guests sat at one table stretching the length of the lawn, then made a beeline for the DJ booth where she bopped with the fuchsia-haired spinmaster running the playlist. Also in attendance: Vincent Chaperon, the chef de cave of Dom Pérignon, actor Billy Porter, rapper Anderson .Paak, TV star Alexandra Daddario, and [banana-tape artist Maurizio Cattelan](, plus dozens of LA socialites and international glitterati. Toasting the 2008 rosé. That’s me on the far right lifting my glass. Photographer: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images North America Logistics were tedious; they included Covid-testing, van shuttles and golf carts to gain entry to the John Lautner-designed Sheats-Goldstein residence. With its infinity pool set in the hills above Sunset Boulevard and 180-degree view of Hollywood, the property is notorious among LA nightlife, the home of countless afterparties and actual filming locations for movies like Charlie’s Angeles: Full Throttle and The Big Lebowski.  DJ Hana wore pink. All pink. Photographer: Jojo Korsh/BFA.com Outfits were outlandish, including cow-printed flared pants, cyber-punk chic sheathes, and a helmet with hoses. The food, amazingly light and indeterminable, as fancy LA repasts tend to be: “Tartlet of warm lobster emulsion with fermented rose and habanero” was spicy, creamy, and decadent; “wild turbot, roasted fraise de bois, black trumpet mushroom, crispy seaweed, and a delicate broth of grilled duck bones” was the consistency of yogurt, all buttery, earthy deliciousness. I oogled paparazzi. I networked with PR mavens. I made friends with my table- and golf-cart-mates. I social-media’d my outfit. I walked to my Uber at midnight with a single broken shoe and a warm breeze at my back. It doesn’t get any more LA than that. Ask us anything! Each week we’re picking reader questions and putting it to our network of experts. So get in touch via AskPursuits@bloomberg.net. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? 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