BMW i3 Electric/Plug-in Hybrid Global Launch

By Ganesh

Updated: Friday, January 31, 2014, 11:42 [IST]

The BMW i3 all-electric/plug-in hybrid compact car is the first ‘i' branded green vehicle coming from the Bavarian automaker. The i3, revealed first in 2011, has been spotted, photographed and teased several times in the past years, along with its larger cousins.

The production version of the BMW i3 was at last, revealed to the world yesterday, in three different events, held in Beijing, London and New York. Along with the unveiling and detailing of the car's technology, BMW also revealed the pricing details in respective regions.

Two models

The first thing one needs to know is that the i3 will be available in two versions - pure electric and a plug-in hybrid aka Range Extender version.

Electric motor

The electric i3 is powered by rear mounted, 170 HP and 250 Nm torque developing electric motors. Being an electric car the torque is available starting from standstill.

EV Range

This pure electric version will provide owners a range of 128 km - 160 km. BMW says the range has been tested in the real world and the mentioned numbers reflect the same.

Battery

What's impressive, however, is the charge. With the i3, you no longer have to wait half a day to juice up the 22-kilowatt, 450-pound lithium ion battery.

Charging time

Standard charging time is only 3 hours, but if the SAE DC Combo Fast Charger is used the charge time comes down to just 30 minutes, with only 20 min required to reach the 80% mark.

Range Extender

Despite the good range and impressive charge time, people might still be apprehensive about pure EVs. Here comes the Range Extender or hybrid model. This model adds a 650cc, 34 hp, two-cylinder, petrol generator to charge the battery.

Range Extender range

The i3 Range Extender can thus achieve a range of 257 km to 289 km.

Driving modes

BMW i3 offers three driving modes - comfort, ECO PRO and ECO PRO+.

Performance

Lastly, the performance offered by the i3 EV:

0-50 km/h - 3.7 seconds
0-100 km/h - 7.2 seconds
Top speed - electronically limited to 150 km/h

LifeDrive architecture

Now, moving on to the car itself. BMW explains that the i3 has been constructed on, what it calls, LifeDrive architecture. This consists of the Life Module and the Drive Module.

The Life Module

The Life Module is the part of the car that houses the passengers. The passenger monocoque cell is constructed from carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), the sort of composite material used in race cars. It also happens to the first mass produced CFRP vehicle.

Light weight

The pillar-less passenger cell design thus weighs 30 lighter than aluminium and is stronger than steel. The absence of the center pillar means the rear passenger door is hinged to the chassis.

Drive Module

The Drive Module, meanwhile, is all aluminium and houses all the hardware. Thus, the overall weight of the i3 is only about 1200 kg.

Recycled materials

BMW has extended the i3's green credentials beyond the powertrain. Large parts of the car is made from recycled plastic. To be more precise, 25 percent of the interior plastic and 25 percent of the exterior thermo-plastic is recycled.

Variants

BMW i3 will be available in three variants or trim levels (Worlds, as BMW calls it) - Mega, Giga and Tera.

Price and launch

BMW i3 will first become available in Germany and other parts of Europe in November. Price will be €34,950 for the EV and €39,450 for the Range Extender. In the UK the price will be £30,680 which will come down to £25,680 after the government rebate.
In the U.S the starting price is $41,350 where it will become available during the second quarter of 2014.