BMW i in the summit-club of the electric mobility world.

Munich. With 2017 coming to a close, BMW Group brand
BMW i has cemented its place among the global leaders in electric
mobility. For the first time, more than 100,000 BMW i, BMW
iPerformance and MINI vehicles with fully electric or plug-in hybrid
drive systems have been delivered to customers within a year.
According to the independent POLK / IHS Report (issue 7.12.2017), the
BMW Group tops the electrified vehicle market in Germany and Europe
with a 21% share of registrations. The BMW Group is tied for first
place globally, its 10% market share equal to that of an American
manufacturer.
 
The BMW Group’s market share in the
electrified vehicle segment (in Europe and worldwide) is now more than
three times larger than its share of the traditional vehicle market.
And while in Europe 2% (globally: 1%) of all new registrations across
all manufacturers are accounted for by electrified vehicles, the
figure for the BMW Group is now 6% (globally: 3%). The BMW Group
therefore has a disproportionally strong representation in the
expanding electric mobility market.

 

BMW i model line-up updated and expanded.

Spearheading this success in the electric mobility arena are the BMW
i3 (electric power consumption combined 1:
13.6 – 13.1 kWh/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 0 g/km) and newly
unveiled, even more powerful BMW i3s (electric power consumption
combined 1: 14.3 kWh/100 km; CO2 emissions combined:
0 g/km). In the four years since its market launch, the BMW i3 has
already become the highest-selling electric vehicle in the premium
compact segment.

The allure of plug-in hybrid sports cars, meanwhile, has also leapt
to another new level with the freshly unveiled, likewise more powerful
new edition of the BMW i8 Coupe (fuel consumption combined
1: 1.9 l/100 km [148.7 mpg imp]; electric power consumption
combined: 14.0 kWh/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 42 g/km) and the
new BMW i8 Roadster (fuel consumption combined 1: 2.1 l/100
km [134.5 mpg imp]; electric power consumption combined:
14.5 kWh/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 46 g/km).
Launched in
2014, the BMW i8 is the undisputed leader of the hybrid sports car
class with a market share of more than 50 per cent.

The BMW i brand has now secured the naming rights from BMW i1
to i9 and BMW iX1 to iX9. The BMW i8 Roadster will go on sale next
year, followed by the battery-electric MINI in 2019, the electric
version of the BMW X3 in 2020 and the BMW iNEXT in 2021. The BMW
iNEXT’s role as a technology spearhead will see it bringing electric
mobility together with autonomous driving and new in-car connectivity
possibilities in a series-produced model for the first time.

The BMW i Vision Dynamics study – a four-door gran coupe with
pure-electric drive system and planned range of 600 kilometres (373
miles) presented at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) – offers
another glimpse into the future of the BMW i brand.

From 2021, the next (fifth) generation of BMW i electric drive and
battery technology will use scalable electric modular technology to
enable all model ranges to be equipped with every type of drive system.

Electric mobility is an essential element of the NUMBER ONE NEXT
strategy the BMW Group has devised to further strengthen its position
as a leader in premium personal mobility and mobility services. The
company will offer 25 fully-electric or part-electric models worldwide
up to 2025 and expects electrified vehicles to then make up between 15
and 25% of global sales

 

BMW i: a leading electric mobility system supplier

Above and beyond its line-up of electrified vehicles, BMW i –
as a hub within the BMW Group – is also pushing ahead with other areas
of electric mobilisation as part of its ongoing commitment to the field:

  •  BMW i high-voltage batteries are in increasing demand beyond road
    vehicles – e.g. to supply power to electric propulsion systems for
    boats (e.g. Torqeedo), commercial vehicles (e.g. Streetscooter) and
    stationary energy storage applications (e.g. Beck). The
    plug-and-play capability of BMW i batteries (which were intended
    from the outset for stationary use after the end of their long
    service life in cars) is now also very much in demand for new
    batteries. For example, over 30.7 megawatt hours of storage capacity
    in the form of new BMW i batteries was supplied to industrial
    customers in 2017. This equates to a fleet of 1,400 BMW i3 cars.
  • ChargeNow, the public charging service from BMW i, now offers
    access to more than 130,000 charging points in 32 countries – with a
    single registration. This makes charging as easy as paying for
    petrol with a credit card.
  • BMW has so far invested 14.4 million euros in manufacturer support
    for electric mobility in Germany since the launch of the country’s
    scrapping bonus, making it the biggest single source of funding.
  • BMW i was presented with the UN’s Momentum for Change award for
    global involvement in charging infrastructure projects and has since
    remained one of the leading initiators of electric mobility projects worldwide:
  • BMW has invested more than 25 million euros, leading to the
    introduction of more than 9,500 operational charging points. The BMW
    Group has therefore supported the installation of more charging
    points around the world than are available in total in Germany today.
  • As part of an initiative in which the BMW Group was a founder
    member, super-fast European charging network Ionity has taken on an
    operating role.
  • The number of BMW i3 vehicles in the international DriveNow and
    ReachNow car-sharing programmes has been further expanded. They have
    now opened up easy initial access to electric mobility for hundreds
    of thousands of customers around the world. At a steady 15 per cent,
    the share of electrified vehicles in these fleets is many times
    higher than that in the respective national markets overall.
  • The BMW Digital Charging Service – the first of its kind and a
    logical further development of an earlier BMW i project – today
    enables easy use of all the possibilities that will come with the
    energy switchover. The service can even help customers earn money by
    automatically optimising the charging process to minimise cost or
    maximise use of green energy.
  •   BMW Energy Services now operates as a standalone business unit
    and pools together the energy optimisation experience of BMW i.
    Coupling electric mobility with the energy sector is another of its
    main fields of activity and will help to make electric mobility
    emission-free (not only locally).

 

BMW i is a driver of innovation for the BMW Group.

The development expertise built up by BMW i and the resultant
transfer of technology are not limited to electric motors and
high-voltage battery technology:

  •  The elements connecting the new BMW i8 Roadster’s roof mechanism
    are manufactured in an innovative 3D printing process for aluminium
    components that is unparalleled in the series production of vehicles.
  •  Conventional BMW and MINI models will soon also benefit from the
    innovative and significantly faster-working driving stability
    control system featured in the BMW i3.
  • The focal points identified by BMW i in everything from the use of
    renewable raw materials and recycled materials to the evaluation of
    river and sea plastic exert a significant influence on development
    activities across the company.

 

BMW i racks up more awards.

Further additions have been made to the list of distinctions
collected by the brand, its products and services. Even four years
ago, while still in its launch phase, BMW i won more awards than any
other brand in automotive history. In 2017 alone it added the
following titles to its collection:

  • “All-wheel-drive hybrid car” of the year for the BMW i8, awarded
    by motoring magazine AutoBild Allrad, Germany.
  • “International Engine of the Year Award” for the drive system in
    the BMW i8; third class win in succession in the world’s most
    important drive system competition.
  • “Green Mobility Trophy” for the BMW i8, awarded by motoring
    magazine Auto Zeitung, Germany.
  • “Most environment-friendly car of the year” for the BMW i8 in the
    “Coupes” category and the BMW i3 in the “Small cars” class, awarded
    by “Auto Test” and environmental institute Ökotrend, Germany.
  • “Best Electric Car” for the BMW i3. awarded by motoring magazine
    What Car?, Great Britain.
  • “Electric Car of the Year” for the BMW i3. awarded by motoring
    magazine Autocar, Great Britain.

 

 

 

About BMW i

BMW i is a BMW Group brand focusing on visionary vehicle
concepts, connected mobility services and a new understanding of
premium strongly defined by sustainability. BMW i is represented in 54
countries with the BMW i3 electric car for urban areas, BMW i8 plug-in
hybrid sports car and plug-in hybrid BMW iPerformance Automobiles. 

BMW i opens up new target groups for the company and serves as an
incubator for innovations. Technologies which have debuted
successfully in BMW i cars are carried over to parent brand BMW’s
other models.

BMW i is also associated with enterprises including DriveNow
(car sharing), ReachNow (car sharing 2.0), ChargeNow (easy access to
the world’s largest network of charging points), ParkNow
(straightforward location, reservation and payment of parking spaces),
venture capital company BMW i Ventures (investment in start-up
companies with a focus on urban mobility), BMW Energy (energy
optimisation services) and the Centre of Competence for Urban Mobility
(consultancy for cities).

 

1  Figures as per the EU test cycle NEDC

Further information on official fuel consumption figures,
specific CO2 emission values and the electric power consumption of new
passenger cars is included in the following guideline: “Leitfaden über
Kraftstoffverbrauch, die CO2 emissions und den Stromverbrauch neuer
Personenkraftwagen” (Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and
electric power consumption of new passenger cars), which can be
obtained from all dealerships, from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH
(DAT), Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1. 73760 Ostfildern-Scharnhausen and at http://www.dat.de/en/offers/publications/guideline-for-fuel-consumption.html.
LeitfadenCO2 (GuidelineCO2) (PDF ‒ 2.7 MB)

 

In the event of enquiries please contact:

 

Paloma Brunckhorst
Media Relations Manager BMW i, BMW iPerformance

Telephone:











+49-89-382-22322

Email: Paloma.Brunckhorst@bmwgroup.com

 

Wieland Brúch,
Media Relations Manager BMW i and Electric Mobility

Telephone:











+49-89-382-72652

Email: wieland.bruch@bmwgroup.com

 

Internet: www.press.bmwgroup.com

Email: presse@bmw.de

 

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