BMW announced this past week that its Mini Rocketman Concept unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2011 is headed to London for the Olympic Games.

From the end of July to September, the vehicle will be on display in the BMW pavilion near the athletes’ village.

The new Rocketman is a concept that is regarded as a modern interpretation of the old and original Mini car.

BMW offered a preview Wednesday of what would be on offer at its first i Store. The London space is designed to be a showroom for the carmaker’s new premium brand BMW i, based around electric and hybrid engines.

In the spotlight are electric concept cars like the BMW i3 urban design and the i8 sedan, as well as BMW iPedelec, an electric bicycle concept.

According to a recently released study by global brand reputation consultancy Reputation Institute, car manufacturer BMW is the most reputable company, followed by Sony and Walt Disney.

This year Google, which topped the charts in 2010 and 2011, fell to sixth place while Microsoft entered the top ten for the first time.

BMW has opened a flagship store in Paris, set to be the first of an Apple-like network of ‘experience stores’.

The new 800-square-meter store is designed as part-showroom, part-tourist attraction and occupies a central location in one of Paris’s most desirable streets, the Avenue George V.

Among the retail store’s gleaming white walls and large display screens are several BMW models, ranging from sports cars to sedans, which visitors can get close to.

Mercedes-Benz‘s plans to regain its historical position as the world’s most popular premium automaker could be paying off, research from Germany has suggested.

The famous tri-star brand was the world’s best-loved luxury automaker until 2005, when it lost the title to rival BMW, which has held it since.

In 2011, it suffered another blow when it slipped behind Audi into third place, selling 1.26 million vehicles compared to 1.3 million for Audi and 1.38 million for BMW.

German carmaker BMW on Thursday launched its iconic Mini Cooper in India, the latest luxury auto maker to expand in one of the world’s fastest-growing car markets.

BMW established a presence in the country in 2006 and has since seen steady growth in sales in India where growing affluence is producing a new upper class with expensive tastes.