BMW, that bastion of the growling petrol driven car, has unveiled the two flagship vehicles that will form its electric division over the next few years. The company, which has arguably been trailing its competitors when it comes to the electric car, revealed the i3 and the i8 recently.
The i3 is the real achievement here, offering an all-electric powered vehicle with a fairly impressive range of 95 km. Designed for use in busy city centres, the car’s two batteries are located beneath the floor, which has helped to create the 200 litres of storage space offered by the car.
The i8 is more in line with BMW’s traditional high performance cars, combining a petrol engine with an electric. The current design is a prototype, which is due to go on sale one year later than the i3, in 2014. The electric only model will only be able to offer a 35km range, so owners may wish ensure their breakdown cover is up to date before venturing out!
The new models demonstrate BMW’s commitment to the new technology, although they are nevertheless guarded about how successful such products will be. A lot, they say, depends on legislation regarding the types of car allowed into city centres in the future; for example, if petrol cars become outlawed in built up areas at some point, the electric car market will necessarily flourish – especially if such laws are Europe-wide.
On the point of being able to ramp up production, BMW say that due to the lack of welding and other large scale manufacturing elements, increasing production capacity for the new cars should be easy.
The new models will generate 800 new jobs in Leipzig, Germany.
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