autoevolution
 

BMW i3 Construction Impresses Independent Vendor with its Clever Approach

BMW marketed the i3 as the most innovative eco-friendly car in the world, but a lot of people thought that it was just marketing talk. Even when the Germans presented all their arguments for this claim and backed them with facts, the crowd still seemed unimpressed and called the EV ‘expensive’.
BMW i3 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
The people from Munro & Associates decided to tear down the car to its core and find out what BMW did first hand, to convince themselves if the EV is worth the trouble. They were surprised to find a couple of interesting approaches used by the engineers.

First of all, the battery pack is not an additional part installed on the car. On the contrary, the battery pack is itself part of the chassis and contributes to the driving dynamics. That might seem like it’s a bit too complicated but as a matter of fact, the cells were installed in such a way that mechanics have easy access to them in order to replace one or more.

At the same time, the entire battery pack has AC. That’s right, BMW knows that heat affects the range of EVs and decided to use the car’s AC system to cool things down. On cold days, a resistor heats up and even warms up the batteries if needed, to offer the same protection to the other side of the coin.

The attention to detail can be spotted everywhere. For example, the company decided to use as few bolts and screws as possible while assembling the interior. Therefore, many of the panels are connected to each other via clip-ons and other innovative means, reducing the amount of metal used, saving some valuable grams of weight and making assembly easier.

Another innovation people seem to forget when talking about the i3 refers to the Life Module or the cockpit. Most customers and interested parties know that it is made of CFRP, and it is especially strong and light at the same time.

However, fewer people know that it was designed so that it protects its occupants from everything, including other parts of the car. For example, in the small overlap test, they found that BMW uses a lever that, in case of a crash, breaks the bolts from the front suspension and makes sure the wheels of the car won’t cause any harm for the occupants. Still think the i3 is too expensive? How many of its rivals offer the same kind of technology?


If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories