Photo: BMW
Over the past few years, BMW has been pretty quiet on the EV front. After being one of the early adopters among legacy carmakers, the Bavarians had to fall back following the underwhelming reception its first BEV model, the i3, had in the market.
The little city car was mainly held back by three things: high price, polarizing exterior design, limited range. Other than that, it was a nice little attempt from the Munich-based company with a cool interior design using innovative recycled materials, opposing doors, and a nippy ride that made it perfect for tackling the urban environment.
However, its drawbacks seemed to outweigh the positives, so while the i3 was far from a failure, it didn't raise the enthusiasm BMW hoped it would either. Following that, the manufacturer decided to switch to a new strategy that goes against what almost every other brand is currently doing with its EVs: build a common platform for all types of powertrains.
If the recently introduced iX3 - the first model of this new wave of BEVs from BMW - seemed a little too familiar, that's because, on the outside, it's just an X3 wearing slightly more futuristic clothes. On the inside, though, it packs an 80 kWh battery good for a maximum range of 285 miles (459 km) and an electric motor with 282 horsepower spinning the rear wheels.
If that sounds slightly unexciting as well, things should become more interesting with BMW's following model, the iNext. Rumored to be marketed as the iX5 - which would make total sense - the larger SUV will employ a multi-motor setup for AWD as well as the ability to clear the benchmark acceleration run in under four seconds. Range is also supposed to extend well over 300 miles (372, to be more exact, or 600 km), meaning we should see a larger battery pack (at least 100 kWh).
But the really exciting news comes from Oliver Zipse, BMW's Chairman of the Board of Management. Talking about the company's sustainability plan for the upcoming years, Zipse also confirmed an all-electric 5 Series isn't too far ahead of us, as are BEV versions for the X1 crossover and the 7 Series flagship.
What makes the 5 Series info noteworthy is that it plays in with other rumors that pointed toward an electricity-run future M5 model, which would undoubtedly be BMW's answer to the Tesla Model S. Further more, we have the 720 horsepower "Power BEV" one-off sedan from one year ago that promised to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in under three seconds "comfortably" thanks to its three-motor setup.
It's still too early to point toward BMW becoming one of the key players in the EV market, particularly since the only model available right now - the iX3 - isn't exactly revolutionary, but all signs point toward the company taking the matter seriously and focusing on making each new model better than the previous one. We'll see where this will take the Bavarians, and it looks like we won't have that long to wait.
However, its drawbacks seemed to outweigh the positives, so while the i3 was far from a failure, it didn't raise the enthusiasm BMW hoped it would either. Following that, the manufacturer decided to switch to a new strategy that goes against what almost every other brand is currently doing with its EVs: build a common platform for all types of powertrains.
If the recently introduced iX3 - the first model of this new wave of BEVs from BMW - seemed a little too familiar, that's because, on the outside, it's just an X3 wearing slightly more futuristic clothes. On the inside, though, it packs an 80 kWh battery good for a maximum range of 285 miles (459 km) and an electric motor with 282 horsepower spinning the rear wheels.
If that sounds slightly unexciting as well, things should become more interesting with BMW's following model, the iNext. Rumored to be marketed as the iX5 - which would make total sense - the larger SUV will employ a multi-motor setup for AWD as well as the ability to clear the benchmark acceleration run in under four seconds. Range is also supposed to extend well over 300 miles (372, to be more exact, or 600 km), meaning we should see a larger battery pack (at least 100 kWh).
But the really exciting news comes from Oliver Zipse, BMW's Chairman of the Board of Management. Talking about the company's sustainability plan for the upcoming years, Zipse also confirmed an all-electric 5 Series isn't too far ahead of us, as are BEV versions for the X1 crossover and the 7 Series flagship.
What makes the 5 Series info noteworthy is that it plays in with other rumors that pointed toward an electricity-run future M5 model, which would undoubtedly be BMW's answer to the Tesla Model S. Further more, we have the 720 horsepower "Power BEV" one-off sedan from one year ago that promised to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in under three seconds "comfortably" thanks to its three-motor setup.
It's still too early to point toward BMW becoming one of the key players in the EV market, particularly since the only model available right now - the iX3 - isn't exactly revolutionary, but all signs point toward the company taking the matter seriously and focusing on making each new model better than the previous one. We'll see where this will take the Bavarians, and it looks like we won't have that long to wait.
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