EV Engineering News

BMW reportedly working on new i5 and i6 EVs

BMW i3 - Mekonomen Autoteknik (CC BY 2.0)

Industry observers already expect a new electric BMW, probably a small crossover EV called the i5, to appear sometime around late 2017. Now Automobile magazine has suggested that the 2018 model i5 will be followed by the i6, an electric sedan about the size of BMW’s best-selling 3 Series.

Automobile says the i6 will be built on a new flat-floor component set made specifically for EVs, and will rely heavily on carbon fiber. It will have several electric motors, and possibly a new lithium-polymer battery pack with at least triple the energy capacity of current batteries. It should arrive in mid-2020.

BMW i3 2 - Mekonomen Autoteknik (CC BY 2.0) copy

Green Car Reports points out that by that time BMW plans to have upgraded its line of PHEVs, doubling their electric ranges. The company’s Power eDrive plug-in hybrid system, which appeared over a year ago, allows vehicles to run on electricity most of the time, like the Chevy Volt.

Which will be more popular in 2020: BMW PHEVs with ranges of 50 or 60 miles, or BMW pure EVs with ranges of 200 to 300 miles?

 

Source: Automobile via Green Car Reports
Images: Mekonomen Autoteknik (CC BY 2.0)

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