BMW Going Green
19.02 .2020
2 020 The second wave of electric cars from BMW is finally starting. The electric version of the X3 will be launched later this year, which will then be called the iX3. The mid-range model i4 and the production version of the iNext, which will then probably be called i5, will follow in 2021. And it goes on in quick succession: As the 'Handelsblatt' writes, the new 7 Series with a fully electric drive will follow again a year later, followed by its smaller brother, an electric 5 Series.
Electric 5 Series and -7er on the CLAR platform
The fact that they are even able to achieve this speed in terms of electrification is thanks to the CLAR architecture. All models mentioned are based on this modular system, which can accommodate all possible drive variants: Pure combustion engines are just as possible with the new 5 and 7 Series as hybrids and fully electric drives.
This approach enables BMW to equip the drive to be able to adapt to demand. As long as the customer demand for electrified drives is still subdued, more combustion engines will be produced. If demand picks up, BMW can adjust production in Dingolfing and build more electric variants. The group assumes that demand will soon pick up: by 2025, every third BMW should be electric, writes the 'Handelsblatt'. And ex-CEO Harald Krüger announced some time ago that by then there would be twelve purely electrically powered models on the market.
Scalable battery and drive
In the technology of the electric Variants of the 5 and 7 series are unlikely to be a surprise, after all, the CLAR platform dictates a lot. The battery is located in the underbody between the axles, so it doesn't take up space either in the interior or in the trunk. It consists of cells that, according to BMW, were developed in-house and should be flexible and modular. Means: The battery in the 5 and 7 series will probably exceed the 80 kilowatt hours that the i4 offers as capacity. The maximum should be the 110 kilowatt hours that are being discussed for the i5 with the highest possible range. Incidentally, BMW puts this at up to 700 kilometers according to the WLTP standard. The charging unit is designed for an output of 150 kilowatts. With the i4 this means: The battery has recovered 80 percent of its energy content after around 35 minutes. Incidentally, solid batteries are not yet in this generation of vehiclesTopic.
BMW is planning the next batch of fully electric models with a motor unit positioned on the rear axle that does not use rare earths and works with a voltage of 400 volts. The iX3 delivers 200 kW /272 PS and a maximum of 400 Newton meters, while the i4 should have an output of 390 kW /530 PS. BMW is likely to grant even more power to the larger electric vehicles. At least the car manufacturer is currently testing converted 5 Series, whose three iX3 motors (two at the rear, one on the front axle) have a system output of 528 kW /720 PS and provide a maximum of 1,150 Newton meters ( read more in this Article ). Despite their weight of a good 2.4 tons, the test vehicles accelerate from zero to 100 km /h in less than three seconds.
