Furstenfeldbruck, Germany
Since BMW began the slow debut of its battery-powered car more than two years ago, the engineers from Bavaria promised that the i3 would be as fun to drive as a conventional BMW.
What if it was even more fun to drive?
BMW has bet considerable resources that the cost advantages of operating an electric car will outweigh the one big disadvantage?range. BMW says the i3, which will come to market in Europe in November and the United States next year, can travel 186 miles when equipped with an optional range extender, a motorcycle-like gasoline engine that helps maintain the charge when the car runs low. Otherwise, the car will be able to travel about half that distance, or about 93 miles, on a single charge.
The new car the company showed automobile writers on Monday at a former military airfield outside Munich had the pep and agility drivers have come to expect from BMW sedans?though not necessarily that of the Z sports cars or M series muscle cars. The i3 has some bonus features, like a quiet ride and a power recovery system that reduces the need to use the brakes since letting up on the accelerator quickly slows the car.
Executives hope the i3 will decisively persuade consumers to accept electric cars. ?We are at the dawn of a new era,? Ian Robertson, BMW?s head of sales, told reporters on Monday.
BMW executives insist that going 186 miles between plug-in charges?they take less than an hour at special stations and six to eight hours from a wall socket at home?is enough range for people living in urban or suburban areas. Extensive trial projects with electrified Minis and 1 Series cars showed that Americans typically drove less than 40 miles a day. In power-saving mode, which turns down the air-conditioning and other power-hungry functions, the i3?s range is about 120 miles.
Perhaps mindful of forecasts by rival electric carmakers that proved overly optimistic, Mr Robertson declined to name sales targets for the i3. BMW plans simultaneous public introductions of the i3, which has begun production at BMW?s factory in Leipzig, Germany, at the end of July in New York, London and Beijing.
The company has not yet revealed the price for the i3 or any of its options, but it is likely to be well under $40,000.
Despite a price that will probably be somewhat higher than a conventional 3 Series sedan, the i3 brings some cost advantages. The i3 never needs an oil change and a power recovery system, which slows the car automatically, means the brakes should last much longer than in a conventional car. There are far fewer moving parts to wear out.
A full charge should cost well under $10 depending on local power costs, a particularly large advantage in Europe.
One reason that electric cars have not been a hit with buyers is that people perceive them as being much more expensive, with more limited range, and no obvious advantages over cars that rely on gasoline or diesel fuel. So far, not many buyers have been willing to pay much extra for the right to feel good about driving a car that is free of emissions from a gasoline engine.
An electric car gives more options to engineers in placing components that drive the car and optimising weight distribution. In the i3, BMW engineers put the batteries under the passenger compartment in a rectangular aluminium box roughly the size of a double bed. The electric motor is mounted above the rear wheels. The passenger compartment is made largely of lightweight carbon fibre.
The effect is a low centre of gravity and even distribution of weight between the front and rear axles. So even though the i3 has the upright profile of a hatchback and stands notably taller than a BMW Mini or 3 Series sedan, it feels remarkably stable slaloming around pylons or negotiating a tight curve at high speed. At the same time, the i3 has a smaller turning radius than a Mini, giving it greater manoeuvrability in the urban environments for which it is intended.
BMW is going to great lengths to alleviate range anxiety. A display in the car will show the location of nearby recharging stations. BMW will also offer a roadside assistance programme in areas where sales justify it. Instead of a tow, the assistance vehicle will provide a charge so the i3 can travel to the next charging station.
Mr Robertson said he expected the i3 to be a second car for most buyers. But for customers who might occasionally want to drive long distances, BMW will offer packages allowing them occasional loans of gasoline or diesel-powered BMW models.
Even if the i3 is a flop, BMW expects to earn a return on its investment. It is already working on hybrid cars that will use the same aluminium and carbon body architecture.
For the time being, Mr Robertson said, BMW plans to be ?a significant player? in the market for electric cars, which he put at 150,000 vehicles a year.
True mass acceptance, he said, will come when electric cars cost less than 10% more than a conventional vehicle and can travel at least 186 miles on a battery charge.
?Battery technology will develop more in the next five years than in the last 100 years,? he said.
