BMW is without a doubt one of the large automakers most serious about the electric vehicle transition, or electrification of passenger transport. I put BMW #2 or #3, only behind Tesla and perhaps Nissan. The German premium-brand giant reinforced that yesterday at the Frankfurt Motor Show by focusing on the i brand right at the beginning of a speech by Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. (h/t joanbowen)
Of course, BMW has quite a lot to brag about. In a separate news release, BMW wrote, “BMW i is already the brand to have won most awards during its introductory phase in the history of motoring.” After a generic intro, Krüger spent about half his time discussing the BMW i brand.
Since the last IAA motor show, we have launched more than 30 new models. And that includes unique innovations like our BMW i8 super sports car with plug-in hybrid — which was awarded the “World Green Car” as well as the “Sports Car of the Year”. BMW i is already available in 36 countries.
In the US, one in six electric cars is a BMW i3, and here in Germany, one in every four. And in China, the BMW i3 as both BEV and REX, has now been listed in the “5th Catalogue of New Energy Vehicles Exempted from Purchase Tax”. This means that customers who buy the BMW i3 from now up to the end of 2017 will enjoy an exemption from purchase tax.
We firmly believe that: Electric drivetrains are part of our industry’s future — battery-powered in urban settings and fuel cell for long distances. Everyone can experience electric driving pleasure with the i3 with DriveNow in Germany, the UK and Denmark. There are now 400 i3s on the roads in Copenhagen. That is the largest electric car-sharing fleet in any city in the world. This is our approach — to make easy access to electro-mobility possible for everyone.
Plenty to brag about. BMW may not be at the level of Tesla or Nissan, but it is certainly trying to be a leader and is in fact #1 in some categories.
In a long press release about the various models BMW has at the Frankfurt Motor Show, aside from mentioning the i3 and i8, the company discussed various newer plug-in models — the 225xe, 330e, 740e, and X5 xDrive40e.
“This means that… the BMW eDrive technology initially developed for BMW i cars will already be available for BMW models spanning four different vehicle segments in 2016,” BMW noted.
While BMW didn’t announce any wild, long-range concept EVs like Porsche and Audi did, I think it’s safe to say that many of us appreciate its more realistic, currently available lineup… it would just be nice if it brought more fully electric models to the market.
| BMW i3 Key Specs | |
| Electric Range | 81 miles / 130 km |
| 0 to 60 mph | 7.1 seconds |
| Max Charge Rate | 7.4 kW |
| Fast-Charging Capability | SAE Combo |
| Efficiency | 124 MPGe |
| BMW i8 Key Specs | |
| Electric Range | 15 miles / 24 km |
| 0 to 60 mph | 4.4 seconds |
| Max Charge Rate | 3.3 kW |
| Fast-Charging Capability | No |
| Efficiency | 76 MPGe |
| BMW 225xe Key Specs | |
| Electric Range | 25 miles / 41 km (NEDC) |
| 0 to 60 mph | 6.7 seconds |
| Max Charge Rate | 3.3 kW |
| Fast-Charging Capability | No |
| Efficiency | 2.1–2.0 liters/100 km |
| BMW 330e Key Specs | |
| Electric Range | 25 miles / 41 km (NEDC) |
| 0 to 60 mph | 6.1 seconds |
| Max Charge Rate | 3.3 kW |
| Fast-Charging Capability | No |
| Efficiency | 2.1–1.9 litres/100 km |
| BMW 740e Key Specs | |
| Electric Range | 23 miles / 37 km (NEDC) |
| 0 to 60 mph | 5.6 seconds |
| Max Charge Rate | 3.3 kW |
| Fast-Charging Capability | No |
| Efficiency | 2.1 litres/100 kilometres |
| BMW X5 xDrive40e Key Specs | |
| Electric Range | 13 miles |
| 0 to 60 mph | 6.5 seconds |
| Max Charge Rate | 3.3 kW |
| Fast-Charging Capability | No |
| Efficiency | 55 MPGe |
Hi.
I think, apart from Tesla and BYD (top worldwide plugin seller in the last months), I now appreciate most VW group for their electrification efforts. Here’s why:
– they have just announced their plan to introduce 20 new plug-ins by 2020
– they currently have by far the highest number of plug-in offerings (mostly available in Europe, though) (not counting commercial vehicles offered by BYD)
– most of these current and soon to come (next 2-3 years) offerings are quite “solid” ones, from an electrification point of view: their PHEVs (VW GTEs and Audi e-trons, but not Porsche’s) sport bigger batteries and more powerful electric motors than any other brand’s, except the Volt. And there are also long range BEVs coming (limited number of Audi R8 e-tron this year, Audi e-tron Quattro in 2018, maybe the Porsche Mission E, though far off in 2020…)
I also appreciate very much Chevy for the Volt and Bolt!
Actually, BMW just reiterated their view of hydrogen as the fuel for long range driving. Just stating. Not commenting.
Anyway, in general: anything is better than nothing…
Nice developments… 🙂
iirc, BMW plans to have plug-in versions of every one of its models by 2020 or 2021 or something like that.