Many large car makers have tried it. Nissan with the Leaf and Chevrolet with the Volt, but BMW believes it will crack the case on electric cars once and for all with its i3 plug-in electric hybrid city car. It’s one step closer to car show rooms now that it has just started rolling off production lines in Leipzig, Germany.
BMW have invested €400-million in their Leipzig factory and hired 800 employees to get ready for i3 production. Said to be priced from €34 950 (or the equivalent of R450 000), BMW calls the i3 the world’s first premium electric vehicle that’s been built from the ground up as such.
This is prefaced by the fact that the BMW i3 was designed with a carbon fibre reinforced passenger cell for reduced weight, together with an aluminium chassis to house the drivetrain and suspension. This makes the BMW i3 one of the first mass-produced carbon fibre cars ever, with components sourced from various German cities.
Underneath the distinctive body work the BMW i3 is powered by a 125 kW electric motor with a 22 kWh lithium-ion battery. An optional range-extender (REx) petrol engine is also available, which is a 2-cylinder, 650 cc unit. BMW are still to release official performance, emissions and economy figures, but it’s said the BMW i3 can travel between 120 km and 150 km solely on battery power, and between 240 km and 300 km with help from the 2-cylinder petrol engine.
The BMW i3 will be available with BMW’s ‘Combined Charging System (CCS)’ fast-charging coupler, which can give a 100% charge in just 30 minutes. It’s time to see if BMW’s i3 and i8 electric gambit has paid off or if this radical city car is just one bridge too far.
