Around two and a half years after the market launch of the small electric car i3 expands BMW now the offer: From summer there will be a version with a larger battery capacity and thus a greater range of up to 300 kilometers. The previous i3 with a range of up to 190 kilometers remains in the program. Owners of older i3 can have their battery replaced. Nothing is known about prices yet, the standard i3 currently costs from 34.950 euros.
Instead of 22 kWh, the new 33 kWh battery has total energy. This is achieved by a higher storage density of the lithium-ion cells, so that the cell capacity increases to 94 ampere hours (Ah) (previously: 60 Ah). The maximum range is now under laboratory conditions at 300 instead of 190 kilometers. According to BMW, even in everyday use, in adverse weather conditions and when using strong consumers such as air conditioning and heating, a range of up to 200 kilometers should be possible.
Similar to the i3, its fiercest competitor, the Nissan Leaf, received a battery update six months ago. The 80 kW / 109 PS strong Japanese man travels a maximum of 30 kilometers instead of 24 with a 200 kWh instead of an 250 kWh battery.
Despite the slight increase in vehicle weight (1.245 kilograms), the performance of the 125 kW / 170 strong hybrid synchronous electric motor at the BMW is almost unchanged: with 7,3 seconds from zero to 100 km / h, the new variant is a tenth of a second slower than the previous model. The power consumption of the new i3 is reduced due to a revised engine control and further optimized tires, BMW specifies it with 12,6 kWh / 100 km (previously: 12,9 kWh / 100 km).
For both battery versions there will continue to be a model variant with a range extender. The two-cylinder petrol engine (current surcharge: 4.500 Euro) keeps the battery charge level constant while driving, thus providing 150 kilometers of additional range.
Owners of older i3 can equip their vehicle with the new battery. The 22 kWh batteries exchanged by customers start a second life and are used to build stationary electricity storage systems.
The charging technology is also changing with the new battery: BMW has adapted the charging electronics of the electric car so that the charging times do not increase too much in view of the higher battery capacity. The new i3 (94 Ah) processes three-phase charging currents with 11 kW. So far, the i3 (60 Ah) could be charged with single-phase alternating current at 7,4 kW. The new i3 charges on an AC quick charging station (alternating current) in under three hours. It takes less than ten hours at the household socket with 2,8 kW (previously: around eight hours). At a DS quick charging station with 50 kW (direct current), the battery cells are filled to at least 40 percent in less than 80 minutes. With i3 (60 Ah) this value is reached in 25 minutes.
The new model can only be recognized from the outside if it comes up with the new Protonic Blue paint available only for this drive variant, which was previously reserved for the BMW i8 hybrid sports car. The model list also expands the options list, and BMW also offers a new generation of their wallbox, which is installed in the customer's garage.