Photo: Catalin Garmacea
At the moment, BMW’s sales of the i sub-brand are going well. Over the course of November, they went past the 15,000 mark, even though there were some issues with the carbon fiber supply due to the typhoon that hit Asia. Most of them are i3s and the sales figures say that most of them come fitted with the so-called Range Extender feature.
That’s basically a scooter engine made by Kymco that is used solely to recharge the car’s batteries. It works just like any other generator would if it was attached to the car, with no power from it going directly to the wheels.
While it might seem redundant and stupid, this range extender is actually the answer to a question a lot of people have been asking about the i3: how far will it go?
It’s a problem all manufacturers of EVs have to deal with at some point as batteries take a lot longer to be recharged than conventional tanks that can be filled with petrol in a matter of seconds. That makes the EV dream a bit of a nightmare if you want to leave the city.
Speaking to AutoGuide, BMW’s North American Head of Electric Vehicle Sales said that he would really like to see a car with the blue and white badge, offering more range.
The answer came after he was asked what would he put up for sale next as part of the i sub brand offering if he called the shots. Admittedly, after a long pause, the answer came to him naturally.
The truth of the matter is, the i3 is already offering a big improvement compared to its rivals that can be limited to the electric Mercedes-Benz B-Class and the Nissan Leaf. Tesla is still a lot more expensive compared to these choices.
With up to 100 miles (160 km) on a single battery charge, the i3 is leading in this department not only because of bragging rights but also because of real-world results.
Of course, along with the advancements recorded in the field, the range of the electric Bimmer should go up but we’ll just have to be patient and wait for them to happen. In the meantime, BMW will be looking to improve the charging network.
While it might seem redundant and stupid, this range extender is actually the answer to a question a lot of people have been asking about the i3: how far will it go?
It’s a problem all manufacturers of EVs have to deal with at some point as batteries take a lot longer to be recharged than conventional tanks that can be filled with petrol in a matter of seconds. That makes the EV dream a bit of a nightmare if you want to leave the city.
Speaking to AutoGuide, BMW’s North American Head of Electric Vehicle Sales said that he would really like to see a car with the blue and white badge, offering more range.
The answer came after he was asked what would he put up for sale next as part of the i sub brand offering if he called the shots. Admittedly, after a long pause, the answer came to him naturally.
The truth of the matter is, the i3 is already offering a big improvement compared to its rivals that can be limited to the electric Mercedes-Benz B-Class and the Nissan Leaf. Tesla is still a lot more expensive compared to these choices.
With up to 100 miles (160 km) on a single battery charge, the i3 is leading in this department not only because of bragging rights but also because of real-world results.
Of course, along with the advancements recorded in the field, the range of the electric Bimmer should go up but we’ll just have to be patient and wait for them to happen. In the meantime, BMW will be looking to improve the charging network.
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