BMW Concept i4 to land next week | Update
Further proof that future electric cars won't all be SUVs comes with Bavaria's Gran Coupe
BMW has confirmed that it’ll show a Concept i4 in seven days, previewing the design that will feature on the all-electric Gran Coupe. The four-door production model will sit alongside the 4 Series line-up, providing BMW with an emission-dodger to suit practically any city in the world.
The i4’s positioning in a globally popular segment is key, especially in markets like China where there is proven demand for electric ‘four-door coupes’. The i3and i8 before it were comparably niche, not to mention considerably less practical. Their designs were also more divisive; BMW’s decision to give the i4 a more conventional look relates to EV market maturation; people no longer feel the need to shout about an absence of tailpipes.
We already know that the i4 will use BMW’s fifth generation eDrive hardware (it’s been mass-producing electric cars for seven years now), which will have 530hp and the ability to eke out more than 350 miles of range. But that’s likely to apply to the top-end model; expect lesser versions with lower prices to sit beneath its claims and extend the model’s remit. We’ll know more when the covers come off on the 3rd March at the Geneva motor show.
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Original story: 18/11/2019
BMW has revealed that its all-electric i4 will develop 530hp, be capable of a 4.0 second 0-62mph time and have a range of 372 miles, providing the premium Gran Coupe-bodied EV a class-leading blend of performance and efficiency. The i4 will reach the market in 2021 using new high-voltage battery technology that will be shared with the forthcoming iX3, due next year. Both will feature an energy dense 80kWh cell that weighs 550kg.
Increased range is obviously the main advantage of the new battery - and the i4's ability to exceed 350 miles will be noted by Tesla and direct rival, Audi - but it is the claimed ability to reach 80 per cent charge in just 35 minutes that ought to distinguish it in the marketplace. BMW says a quick boost to 62 miles takes just six minutes.
Fast charge times are widely considered essential to achieving the much-discussed EV tipping point. The fifth-generation BMW eDrive tech inside the i4 will be applied to a range of future models as part of the firm's wider electrification plans, Significantly for the longevity of this plan, BMW is developing and producing the majority of its electric hardware in house, with a push for further development handled at the BMW Battery Cell Competence Centre in Munich. Expect the marque's line-up to look vastly different soon after the i4's arrival.
The i4 is still over a year away from arriving, but today's release of its vital statistics suggests the nitty gritty engineering work is at a very advanced stage. BMW has stopped short of detailing what it means by 'energy dense' when discussing the battery's configuration and there's no word yet as to what the i4's chassis itself will be made from; an extensive use of carbon fibre would no doubt help to counter the heft of the cells, but the firm's previous i models proved costly to make for that reason.
Images of the car cold weather testing suggest engineers are now turning their attention to the later stages of development. The official pictures show how the swept-back model's form is not too dissimilar to a 4 Series Gran Coupe's. That's not surprising, given the combustion engine model sells well globally, including in BMW's key markets, China and the US. Deploying an all-electric car in this class, backed by a compact SUV, makes perfect business sense; the greater sales volume offering the firm a better chance of absorbing its costs than a city and sports car did in the last decade.
Of course, there are still many unanswered questions relating to the i4, including what wheels will be driven by the motors and whether those aforementioned numbers are applied to one car or are representative of the best compromise across different variants. However, as far as early statistics go, they suggest BMW is set to make quite an impact in the world of electric mobility in the next decade. That will, inevitably, also include the adoption of electrification in its performance range, too. But that's for another cold day...
For me, all the interesting EVs have been designed as an EV from the ground up. I see no reason for such a long bonnet / small cabin space when there is no engine. It provides a great opportunity to rethink how a car should be packaged. The i3 was a case in point but Teslas, the iPace and from what I can see the Taycan / ID3 / Polestar all benefit from this.
I can understand it's unlikely to have the innovative materials of the i3 (A key advantage of the i3 / i8 approach over a 'standard' car is that whilst marginal cost is more expensive, tooling is a fraction of the cost of a traditional vehicle so it becomes much more cost-effective with low volume production).
After such an innovative start in EVs BMW seems to have really lost its way. It's approach seems more to do with protecting it's balance sheet and not upsetting the works councils rather than developing the best products it can. Fortunately others are prepared to be much more bold.
For me, BMW’s i cars have been a wasted opportunity. They did something different and had the opportunity to get the jump on their competition but they haven’t really developed the concept much and now appear to be changing direction.
Agree 100%. I would never drive something like an i3. The styling is ridiculous to my eyes. I think this is part of why the Tesla Model 3 has been successful as, for the most part, it just looks like a car. People don't want something that looks like a spaceship.
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I guess I’m in the minority because I like the i3. I like the use of carbon, the use of recycled materials etc. They’re actually a pretty nice place to be and drive well enough. But I also understand how it is decisive aesthetically and that’s a big problem in getting EV’s to the mass market. To date most have been a bit odd looking.
TX.
^example of small numbers wanting one vs "most of the car buying customer".
I work with one chap who has an i3, one has a Zoe, two more have just had e-Golf’s and another collects his Model 3 on Friday. All of these cars have happened in the last few months. That’s quite a big change in buying habits in a relatively short space of time. Kia and Hyundai have closed order books for their EV’s due to demand and there are massive waiting lists for those have ordered one.
A PM I work with swapped his 535d for a Model S last year and it works despite his crazy mileage. One of my family members has had a Model S for a while now and loves it; they won’t ever go back.
Things like the i3, iPace and Tesla’s are common sites now in central London and in the Cotswolds. I’ve not really noticed any other EVs but they are probably there but just not standing out so much.
Most of my peers, like myself, are fully aware of EVs and have a total expectation to buy one as a replacement vehicle when it makes sense to do so. Most of my peer’s children and my own are as aware of Tesla’s as I would have been of Ferrari’s etc at their age. My children are 8 & 9, girls and have learned about electric cars from their engagement with their outside world, not from me, I have taught them about the merits of post war pushrod V8s over crappy diesels.
Yesterday I drove into London and noticed half a dozen Tesla S on the M40 and a couple of iPaces. All pottering along at 55 in the middle lane doing what those sort of punters like to do on the only motorway in the UK where 90 is still quite normal and most people still keep left unless overtaking. A year ago I probably would have seen one Tesla hypermiling. Once in London I guess I noticed nearly a dozen i3s just getting from the M1 to St John’s Wood.
Out in the Cotswolds more and more establishments and holiday rentals are installing charging to attract customers and the various premium EVs are now common sites.
Stray to more normal parts of the UK and they are still rare sites.
People are right that EVs aren’t really selling in any kind of relevant numbers but other people are also right that this is changing very rapidly.
Some time in the next decade we will arguably reach a figure of 50% of new car sales being EVs and about another decade further beyond that around 50% of carsbon the road being EVs. It’s not going to stop now, there is too much legislation, too much capital from manufacturers committed.
What’s not going to happen is any sudden change regardless of the screaming demands of the religious fanatics, it’s going to happen at the pace dictated by the natural pace that it takes to bring lithium production sites on stream, the speed it takes to raise the capital, the speed to build the factories and ultimately to find the customers with enough spending power etc. And what is also not going to happen is the genie being put back in the bottle.
I agree that it’s not going to be an overnight thing, but amongst people I know and work with it’s interesting to see how many are making the switch and making it work for them.
The changes in BIK are also going to make them much more attractive for company car drivers. If the i3s or e-Golf had been on my company car list earlier this year, I would gave cancelled the order for my M140i and stayed in the car scheme because it would have been so cheap.
I agree that it’s not going to be an overnight thing, but amongst people I know and work with it’s interesting to see how many are making the switch and making it work for them.
The changes in BIK are also going to make them much more attractive for company car drivers. If the i3s or e-Golf had been on my company car list earlier this year, I would gave cancelled the order for my M140i and stayed in the car scheme because it would have been so cheap.
It all makes it strange that they still can’t speak properly.
The iPace is built there and I see quite a few of those south of Birmingham. And the i3.
I think the last 18 months has seen quite a cultural shift among consumers with the money to buy these types of car. Outside of affluent cities this type of consumer tends to be older in order to have accumulated the wealth and more and more are evaluating EVs logically and where they work nearly as well as ICEbor better than ICE the number of people are making the switch.
And no issues speaking for me as I’m from the south east originally
The point I was trying to make is that those who I know making the change to EV’s are fairly normal professional people with not super rich etc.
That’s one of the keys to the BIK changes, it’s going to grant access to EVs to the average income earners who have access to domestic charging.
It will quite quickly make your BMW feel slow, awkward and a little embarrassing.
I actually don't think its a Tesla thing, it's an electric car thing, it's just that Tesla have been the first to make an electric car good to drive.
I've riven an i3 and as much as I liked it, it didn't make my car feel slow or embarrassing and I doubt a Zoe would either
I'm far from anti-EV's but most Tesla owners are like vegans in the way they are so evangelical about their cars, hence it appears to be like joining a cult.
He's already over the moon with it despite it being supplied without any charging cables, so he's currently unable to charge it at home.
I think a pump will probably dispense a liter every 4 seconds so filling up a 70L tank is probably around 3 mins + 3 mins queuing for the person in front who wants to pay and shop at the mini market.
Trust me its a ballache chore that i could do without in my life. I can think of much better things to do than go into a petrol station and its not just because I drive an EV I've hated filling up for at least 10 years.
I've never really found filling up a ball ache. I use pay at the pump where possible and if I have to queue for a few minutes, it hardly puts a downer on my day!
Conversely, a colleague getting caught out in his EV was a ball ache. On his way back from York the fast charger at a service station as out of order so he had to use a slower charger which resulted in three hours sitting in a service station until he had enough charge to get home. Given what soulless, depressing s
tholes motorway service stations are, that's a ball ache that I could do without in my life.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff