BMW i range of cars, especially the i8 was one of the automotive engineering marvels and it looked so futuristic, defining the path of how future models would look like.
BMW i range of cars, especially the i8 was one of the automotive engineering marvels and it looked so futuristic, defining the path of how future models would look like. The company also has the i3 hatch and it is widely expected that an SUV crossover will be added to the line up soon. But according to CarandDriver, the BMW i5 is coming only in 2020 and no sooner.
We dot know what the next ‘i’ model will look like
The report suggests that BMW i5 will be a completely electric vehicle as opposed to a hybrid which was a wide expectation. Henrik Wenders, head of product at BMW said that the upcoming models will come with standard batteries with range extenders for those who really need it. “The range-extender plays an important part in the next years when range remains a limiting factor and a source of anxiety. Of course, once we get to a range that is more comparable with that of an internal-combustion engine it will become obsolete. So this is the reason I can say we will continue to offer the range-extender in the future as optional equipment, to address different customer needs.”
“At the beginning of the i3, the [take rate of the] range-extender was much more than we expected,” Henrik Wenders said. “More than 60 percent. It’s decreasing dramatically now and what we’re seeing is that people are almost never using it and that it was purely a psychological thing; it is being regularly used in fewer than five percent of i3s.”
“We are thinking of a new i model above it to attract families, and that means it must be capable of being the first car in the household. We are still working very hard on the usage concept, but this needs to be defined by the market and not by us.”
The electric vehicles have gotten better with time and at the same time, are getting smarter by the day. The range of cars is no more a point of debate at least in the western world where the EV eco system is shaping up well. The range of cars is increasing but as Wenders pointed out, very few people need it and need it sparingly. So a functional all electric vehicle makes a lot of sense. We only wished that it came soon enough!!