BMW in massive EV charge

Hot on the heels of the announcement of the Renault Zoe for New Zealand – see story this page – comes news that BMW is set to import a whole raft of plug-in hybrid models. Plug-in hybrids started for BMW with the i3, and the company has now decided that in the second half of the year New Zealand will get the pure EV version, without range extender engine, although an uprated version of the latter will continue to be offered. Both new BMW i3s feature a significant uplift in range capability, thanks to a largercapacity lithium-ion battery pack. An increase from 60Ah to 94Ah to increase range from 190km to 300km, according to the European NEDC standard. Pricing commences from $74,300 plus on-road costs for the pure electric BMW i3, or $85,300 plus on-road costs for the BMW i3 with range extender. This new 33kwh battery system (29kwh useable) system feeds a rear-mounted electric motor that produces 125kw and an instantaneous 250Nm torque peak, delivered to the rear wheels. This enables the new BMW i3 to achieve the benchmark 0-100km/h sprint in 7.3 seconds, or 8.1 seconds in the Range Extender variant. Electricity consumption is 12.6kwh/100km (NEDC), making the i3 the most efficient electric vehicle in its segment. The battery pack is rated at 33kwh (29kwh useable), up from 22kwh. Importantly, the pack can be replenished via a regular household AC socket and supplied cable, or through public charging infrastructure. For the first time in New Zealand, future-proof DC charging capability is also included as standard equipment on the new BMW i3 range. This system is capable of providing charge to 80 percent capacity in around 40 minutes. The charging connection on both BMW i3 variants are of the Type 1 (SAE J1772) standard, and DC charging is achieved through the same connector port utilising the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard. All BMW EVS can also be charged from a household power point. At the same time BMW NZ has announced, that, from next month, the following plug-in hybrid versions of the company’s most popular models will be sold, namely the 225xe Active Tourer, the 330e Sedan, the X5 xdrive40e Sports Activity Vehicle, and the 740e Luxury Sedan. Pricing will be announced later.