Like every other company, BMW also entered the Electric Vehicle market in 2011 through its sub-brand name BMW I which was a part of “Project i”. The brand was set up to design and manufacture Plug-in Electric Vehicles, but as time went on, the company shifted towards Plug-in Hybrids and All-Electric cars.
The company had displayed the concept of i3 and i8 in 2009, but the production of these models started in 2013. BMW i3 was a huge success because the company had sold 50,000 vehicles till 2016 and is still counting on. In 2014, the company started expanding its product range to Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles by delivering the plug-in hybrid versions of all its core-brand models through the introduction of their eDrive technology.
BMW iPerformance
Later on, the company gave these plug-in hybrid vehicles a name called iPerformance to indicate the shift from BMW I to BMW core brand. Now the company delivers both all-electric(under BMW i) and plug-in hybrid vehicles(under iPerformance). There are two major Electric vehicle series named i3 and i8 that BMW has delivered and is working on.
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BMW’s i3 and i8 vehicle variants are based on the Life Drive Platform. i3 was recently launched as a fully electric vehicle running on a Lithium-Ion battery and the early models were able to deliver a range of 81 to 99 miles on a single charge. It is an everyday use vehicle with an average range, but later on, the company started rolling out the range extender variants which had a gasoline engine fitted to extend the range. The BMW i3 was a huge hit making it the top-selling BMW electrified model.
BMW i8
According to the data available, the company has sold about 1,65,000 units worldwide till January 2020. The other electric vehicle model which BMW offers is the BMW i8, which is a Plug-in Hybrid vehicle. Due to its reliability, the BMW i8 has also been used as a Safety car in Formula E Championship. There are two other sporty and aggressive-looking versions of the i8 named the i8 coupe and i8 Roadster.
Both the i3 and i8 models are now expected to be built on BMW’s Life-Drive Platform which will use lightweight materials such as Aluminium, making the care lighter in weight and more efficient in performance. BMW has presented plug-in hybrid models of all the electric vehicles under I performance, but now they have also unveiled their iX3 model under BMW I sub-brand. Set on production in 2020, iX3 SUV is the company’s second Fully electric vehicle and it is built on BMWs 5th generation EV powertrain.
BMW’s Power of Choice
BMW has made a contract with Samsung to deliver lithium-ion cells for a decade costing an amount of $10 billion. BMW also intends to supply them with cobalt and lithium to increase transparency. BMW also has introduced the “Power of Choice” vehicle range which offers a wide range of vehicles to the consumers depending upon the fuel they are running on, electric capability(such as fully electric or Plug-in Hybrid).
Power of Choice vehicles is built on FAAR and CLAR Architecture platforms. While up to 4 different powertrain variants can be built on the same production line for each of its models. BMW is also working on the Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle named BMW I Hydrogen which was presented in 2019 at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Apart from these, BMW has also presented their concept vehicle named BMW i4 which is a four-door sedan, and iNext which is a self-driving concept vehicle. Both of these concept vehicles are expected to be launched in 2021. BMW is planning to deliver electric vehicles, Fuel cell vehicles, and plug-in hybrid vehicles (through its eDrive technology) to make the vehicle operation eco-friendly by reducing the carbon footprint.
Apart from making their electric vehicles, BMW is also extending its I technology to Mini, making vehicles like Mini Countryman a Plug-in hybrid vehicle.
BMW Company Profile
| Founded in: | 1916 |
| Owner Company: | BMW |
| Main Headquarter: | Germany |
| Area Served: | Worldwide |
| Manufacturer of: | Four Wheelers and Two Wheelers |
| Communication: | Official Website |
