Category Archives: BMW
ING Bank orders 51 BMW i3 electric cars
ING launches the pilot “100% Electric Mobility” with 51 car drivers and the fully electric BMW i3. With this pilot ING wants to gain experience with 100% electric driving and contribute to reducing CO2 emissions.
Participants in the pilot have to based in Amsterdam and live within a radius of 45 kilometers of their work. The drivers are in charge to load their BMW i3 home with its own charging point or at a public charging point that exists close to home. At the headquarters buildings of ING in Amsterdam 90 charging stations were installed.
ING already leases 42 Plug-in Hybrids but with this pilot the company looks to the future and electric mobility. The company says that aside from the 51 drivers there is a waiting list as well. Part of the pilot is to give the participants a year feedback on electric driving. Through surveys, but also through an internal community, drivers can share their experiences (tips & tricks).
ING is one of the first company to announce a fleet of i3 cars, others are expected to join in the future. Even Police Departments are looking at the environmental-friendly BMW i3.
Source: BMW Blog
Test Drive: BMW i3
Today my Wife and I headed off to the Specialist Cars BMW dealership in Stevenage for a pre-booked test drive in the new BMW i3 electric plug-in.
We arrived to a professional welcome, and after a few minutes we were ready to drive. I had driven an i3 before, and so this was to convince my wife that electric cars work.
We took off like a rocket. The quiet and responsiveness of electric cars is uncanny, and the i3, as a lightweight 4 seater, is particularly nippy. We are used to automatics, but with petrol cars there is always a bit of a lag for automatics to kick in – not so for an electric. High torque delivered straight to the road makes for an exhilarating ride, and the low centre of mass from the underslung batteries gives marvellous handling.
The car is a little small for our family, so we shall look at alternatives, but I was delighted that, having driven an all-electric plug-in for the first time, my wife could clearly see that this was a real car which could really work and save us money. Next stop is the Nissan Leaf.
BMW accelerates electric powertrain production
Following the successful launch of the ‘i’ sub-brand, BMW is now expanding production capabilities in anticipation of electrifying its conventional fleet of vehicles.
Two new production lines building electric motors and the lithium-ion battery packs that supply them with energy have been commissioned for the German carmaker’s Dingolfing plant. More than 200 additional staff are expected to operate the lines, which are said to cost “a high double-digit million euro amount” over the next five years.
It’s an essential expense for BMW, which has plans to offer plug-in hybrid versions of models ranging from the 7 Series limousine to the X5 SUV to the humble 3 Series, its best-selling car. The company has expertise in building electric hardware for the i3 and i8 in-house; the next step is to integrate the technology in its high-volume vehicles.
The technology will arrive under the ‘eDrive’ banner, with electric motors mated to highly efficient turbocharged gasoline engines, delviering outstanding overall fuel economy and the ability to travel reasonable distances solely using electric power. BMW’s incipient plug-in hybrids are also likely to be fast, developing in excess of 250 hp from their two power sources.
While the BMW i8 supercar (review) was BMW’s first plug-in hybrid, at $136,000 it is exclusive. Standard ‘eDrive’ plug-in hybrids will be more affordable, and although a slight premium is expected, they will broadly match gasoline-only models in price. Hardware for both the ‘i’ and ‘eDrive’ models will be built on the same lines, with the X5 eDrive the first of the new breed to arrive in 2015.
BMW is well placed to capitalize from consumers who are increasingly aware of the benefits of plug-in hybrid technology and are already loyal to the brand. It will, however, face competition from Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo, all of whom are preparing for widespread electrification of the their model lines.
Source: EcoMento
Talking Cars with Consumer Reports – BMW i8
Most electric and plug-in hybrids have an image problem, seen as earnest transportation pods. The BMW i8 shatters that stereotype, earning attention normally reserved for Italian exotics but with a particularly modern sensibility. We talk about driving this very high-tech car.
There’s also some discussion of the Tesla Model S.
Formula E Support Cars Get Equipped With Wireless Charging
Formula E Gets Wirelessly Charged Up
Four plug-in BMWs will be support vehicles (safety, medical, etc.) for the all-electric Formula E racing series. These 4 vehicles have now been fitted (or will be soon) with Qualcomm Halo wireless charging technology.
Per Formula E:
All four BMWs have been specifically modified to meet FIA requirements, with one of the BMW i3 models featuring an inductive charging system from Qualcomm Incorporated, with the remaining three vehicles set to be adapted at a later stage. The technology has been developed by San Diego-based Qualcomm Incorporated, one of the official Founding and Technology Partners of the series and a global leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. The Qualcomm Halo™ technology uses resonant magnetic induction to transfer energy between a ground-based pad and a charging pad fitted to the underside of the vehicle. The cars can then simply park over the base pad for charging to start automatically.
Read more: Inside EVs
Electric Highway use quadruples in nine months
The Electric Highway rapid charging network has had almost a four-fold rise in the number of vehicles plugging in over the last nine months, according to green utility company Ecotricity, which is responsible for running it.
A total of 4,080 cars used the network in the last quarter of 2013, more than doubling to 8,891 in the first quarter of this year, and 15,152 in the second quarter – a 271% rise, as plug-in car registrations in the UK continue to climb.
The network, which now spans 90% of all UK motorway service stations and includes 170 charging points, has so far provided 250,000 kWh of 100% renewably sourced electricity, or over a million miles of electric driving, for free.
By the end of the year, Ecotricity expects to have rapid chargers at all service stations in the UK, giving an 80% charge in under half an hour, with many sites gaining a second unit with the new Combined Charging System connector, compatible with BMW and Volkswagen’s electric vehicles.
As a result, the company estimates that it will have reached two million miles of free electric driving to its membership base, which is gaining 800 registrations each month.
Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity and the Electric Highway, said: ‘Fast chargers are a massive turning point for electric cars in Britain, knowing you can recharge a car in 20 minutes, or about the time it takes to have a cup of coffee, and travel the length and breadth of Britain if you want to – is a massive boost.’
Source: EV Fleet World
Plugged in to our new quick-and-quirky BMW i3
Futuristic, extended-range car reveals a whole different side to the German automaker
After a nine-month wait, we’ve just taken delivery of the futuristic-looking BMW i3, a tall, rear-drive, electric-powered hatchback. This is a quick-and-quirky little car with a driving experience quite unlike anything else, for better and worse.
While the base car is a pure EV, the i3 is also available with a range-extending gasoline engine meant to eliminate range anxiety. As with the Chevrolet Volt, the gas engine is only used to generate electricity. The engine only kicks in when the 22-kWh lithium-ion battery is near depletion.
The electric drive produces 170 hp and the REX adds a 34-hp, 650cc two-cylinder motorcycle engine. We opted for the REX in midtrim Giga World version. The EPA rates the electric range at 72 miles, and it estimates that the gas engine will supply another 78, for a combined 150-mile range. The starting price for the gas-assisted car is $45,200, but with options such as heated seats and navigation, our car came in at $50,450. Thankfully, it qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit.
The i3’s novel lightweight architecture uses carbon-fiber body structure and roof, plastic body panels, and earth-friendly plastics in the cabin. The leather bits are even “tanned” with olive tree extracts.
We took a brief stint behind the wheel of an i3 in Los Angeles in November but now we’re experiencing it on our home turf, in anticipation of a full test once the break-in miles are complete.
Read more: Consumer Reports
James May on his new BMW i3
I am very, very excited about my new electric BMW i3. In the interests of accurate journalism, I ought to point out that it’s still not here, despite what I said a month or two back, but that’s probably because it’s being recharged somewhere on the way from Germany. Badoom tsch!
But I’m still very excited. Why, though? Why would I be so sleepless over a car that’s going to traumatise me with this new syndrome of ‘range anxiety’, a very polite name for ‘battery tyranny’? Why, when I’ve recently driven La Ferrari LaFerrari – a car that harnesses the wonder of electricity in a very intelligent and sustainable way – am I worked up about humming around in an overpriced battery-powered aircon unit? It troubles me.
I’m taking a lot of stick about this car. A number of people have pointed out that buying an electric car but continuing to work on Top Gear is somehow not very ecological. But who said it was? I’m not interested in the ecology, I’m buying it because I’m a car enthusiast, and I’m really not going to sleep better in the knowledge that Nick Clegg is pleased with me. Quite the opposite, to be honest. Doesn’t explain why I’m jumpin’ about it, though.
Someone on Twitter was also having a pop at my credentials as a car fan. How could I deny the passion of driving, they asked?
Well, look. There’s more than one way to be excited by cars. I love daft supercars, but I also like a Rolls-Royce Ghost for its serenity and sense of detachment. A whisper-quiet electric car may expose a new facet to this thing that used to be called ‘motoring pleasure’. We’ll have to see.
I’ve said it before, but the electric car thing is a bit of a public experiment, and I’m keen to take part in it. But, having said that, I never got very excited about taking part in experiments in the chemistry lab at school, except the one where I heated up Clive Kingston’s metal ruler in a bunsen burner and then left it on his desk. So that still doesn’t explain it.
What intrigues me is that the electric car has been around almost as long as the car itself. Even within my own lifetime, it’s been kicking around on the back burner (an analogy that needs work, because obviously it would be on an electric ceramic hob) in the form of milk floats and meals-on-wheels delivery vans. But I never considered anything like that for a moment.
But all of a sudden, an electric car is a bit cool. Why? I suppose because the environmental pretence makes it quite fashionable. Driving an electric car is being the change you want to see in the world, or whatever hipsters say, and sneaking around town in complete silence, mowing down unsuspecting pedestrians, places you in that sector of society that embraces change instead of resisting it. It’s the fuzzy edge, the avant garde. And that’s me. You should see some of the shapes I throw out on the floor.
But there’s something else. For decades, an electric car was simply that – a car powered by a useless battery and an electric motor, but in every other respect just like a car. The only other thing anyone ever recharged was a toothbrush.
Now, though, we recharge everything, even vacuum cleaners, so it seems perfectly humdrum. Not only that, the act of plugging in your car has become part of the culture of being connected. It’s not just about electricity, it’s about intelligent devices.
To put it another way, an electric car used to be like Richard Hammond. You fed him some baked beans, and he carried on being another irritating Brummie bloke. Now it’s more like Professor Brian Cox. You ply him with exotic French wines, and he explains stuff about quantum physics.
This, I’ve now realised, is what it’s all about. I’m sad enough to sleep with the i3 order form next to my bed, and looking at it last night, I noticed that I’d held back on posh trim and phat alloys, and spent all my money on things like satnav, jam assist, driving assistant plus, internet capability, online entertainment, smartphone compatibility, DAB, and so on and so on. I can play computer Battleships in a traffic jam and watch YouTube clips from Battle of Britain in the privacy of my own car.
That’s why it seems to be, suddenly, a thing of wonder. It’s not really a car at all. It’s a giant iPad. Being a car is just one of its apps.
Source: Top Gear
2014 BMW i3 Video Review: Consumer Reports
BMW built the futuristic looking i3 from the ground up. It’s a tall, rear-drive, electric-powered hatchback that feels quick and easy to maneuver.