This Mercedes-Benz battery could power your home

Tesla isn't the only one offering batteries to power your home. Mercedes-Benz is also getting in on the act. Parent company Daimler will offer Merc-branded power packs from September in its native country of Germany.

The pack works just like Tesla's. It uses cells that were originally designed for use in an electric car. They draw energy from the grid during off-peak hours, when it's usually cheaper, and will store solar energy gathered from the sun's rays. Just like Tesla's offering, you can combine up to eight of the 2.5kWh packs to power your entire home or business.

Tesla's plan seems ambitious, but then it managed to make electric cars sexy, so we wouldn't bet against it succeeding. It says its batteries are in huge demand, so no doubt Daimler wants a slice of that pie.

There's no word on when either firm will offer its batteries on these shores, but let's hope it's soon. Daimler is yet to price up its offering, but you can register your interest now on the website. Tesla's costs $3,500 but promise to save you thousands.

BMW's new 7-series is first car that can really park itself.

James Bond cars are no longer consigned to the cinema: BMW has just unveiled its new 7-series and it's packed to the gills with gadgets. 

Top of the list is the Parking Assistant feature, which lets the BMW 7-series park without you even being in the car. You do this with something called a Display Key, which looks a cross between a central locking remote and a tricorder, with a 2.2in screen on the front to finish things off. 

Granted, it’ll only work if the BMW 7-series is positioned in front of the parking space, and to avoid any traffic disasters it’ll only move 1.5 times the length of the car. But it’s pretty futuristic regardless, and is the first consumer model to have exactly such a feature, according to BMW. 

Other futuristic extras include a seven-inch tablet that’ll control features from the outside, massage seats, wireless phone charge points and automatic steering through traffic jams. Oh, and the passengers get access to ‘cinema’ screens that’ll comfortably outdo those of most first-class flights. 

On the outside, the new BMW 7-series is a bit more familiar, with that classic BMW grille design and certainly no Delorean-style gullwing doors. It only takes its showing-off so far. 

The BMW 7-series starts at around 1.07 crores, but that gets you the basic model, including none of the extras we’ve talked about. And unfortunately BMW has been too classy to let us know how much you’ll have to fork out for the top-end spec.