bmw ceo harald krueger

BMW CEO Krueger revealed plans to increase the i3's range in 2016

It's no secret that if BMW wants the i3 to continue to remain relevant they will eventually have to increase its all electric range. In fact, in about a year there will be no less than two electric vehicles available in North America that have double the i3's all electric range and also cost less. Nissan will be launching the second generation LEAF, and Chevrolet will bring the Bolt EV to market by the end of 2016 and they are both rumored to have approximately 200 miles of electric range.

I think it's fair to say most people expected BMW to up the i3's range to stay competitive, but when they would do so was not known. Until now. BMW CEO Harold Krueger in an interview with Die Zeit recently said this about the topic:

“Battery cell technology continues to evolve. The range of the i3 will be increased in 2016. A further technological improvement is to be expected in three or four years: Then you’ll be able to go twice as far on a single charge without any further increase in the weight of the battery."

This is the first time anyone from BMW has offered a clear statement about increasing the range of the current i3. Personally, I didn't expect this yet, but welcome the news. I had always maintained that the i3's range would be linked to the progress made by BMW's battery partner, Samsung SDI. So the news that the MY2017 i3 will have increased range is interesting as well as exciting. It's interesting because Samsung has maintained that they wouldn't be bringing the next generation of large format, automotive grade batteries with increased energy density to market before 2018 - 2019. See timeline produced by Samsung SDI below:

Samsung SDI Battery Technology Roadmap

So the question is: How is BMW increasing the i3 range? Here are some possible explanations:

1) They are sourcing higher energy density batteries from other suppliers. This could very likely be the answer. The i3's 130 kW/Kg battery cells are not nearly as energy dense as the cells Tesla uses for instance. BMW could have a partner to supply them with cells which have considerably higher energy density and accomplished the increased range using the same battery tray as the current i3.

2) Samsung SDI provided BMW with a battery which is incrementally better than the existing cells they provide BWM with, but not quite as energy dense as the cells they plan to have in three or four years, according to their technology roadmap. Again, this would allow BMW to use the current battery tray and not need any major structural re-engineering. 

3) BMW redesigned the battery tray to accommodate more battery modules, or used the area where the range extender goes to add a second, smaller battery pack. Either of these options would have required a lot of engineering, testing and validation. I just don't see BMW doing either of these for a mid-cycle refresh. Certainly when the next generation i3 comes out in 2018 or 2019 there will likely be new redesign of the battery tray area, but not for a refresh, it's just too expensive to do that only two years after the initial launch.

Another benefit of the increased electric range will be increased gas range for the REx i3s in the US. Unlike in Europe, the US i3 must have a shorter range when driving on gasoline than it does on battery alone. This is a complicated issue which is tied to the amount of ZEV credits BMW gets for every i3 they sell, but in short by increasing the i3's all electric range, they can then allow the gas range to increase and still qualify for the maximum ZEV credits they get. The current i3 REx is EPA rated at 72 miles per charge and the range extender's gas tank is software limited to 1.9 US gallons which provides another 70 miles of range. If BMW were to increase the i3's REx's electric range from 72mpc to 92mpc. They could then allow US customers full use of the 2.4 gallon gas tank, and the combined range would go from about 142 miles to roughly 182 miles.

BMW employee working on an i3 battery pack assembly

Krueger was also asked if current i3 owners would have the ability to upgrade their cars with the new batteries and his answer was: "We are currently looking into that." Personally I believe that will be possible, but not economically viable, for now at least. I know current i3 owners will be asking about an upgrade but it just doesn't make sense to replace a battery pack that is two years old for just a little more range. I think it's more likely that in four or five more years when some of the original wave of i3 owners have 120,000 to 150,000 miles on their car they will be looking at the next generation of battery cells which will be available and these "new" battery cells will already be obsolete. I would be surprised if BMW didn't engineer those new cells to fit in the same modules the current i3 uses, so a complete replacement with the upgraded battery cells would then be possible.

What effect this will have on i3 sales from now until this new longer range i3 is available is unknown, but there is at least some comparable data to use. Both the Chevy Volt and the Nissan LEAF launched in late 2010 and are just now releasing upgraded range models. The Volt is a complete redesign and the LEAF is doing more of what BMW is now by keeping basically the same vehicle and offering it with an incremental longer range. The 2nd generation LEAF which will be completely redesigned and offer much more range won't be available for about another year. In both cases these cars experienced greatly reduced monthly sales in their final months as customers waited for the new model with longer range. Like Nissan and Chevrolet, BMW will likely have to offer some favorable financial incentives to clear the remaining 2016 stock once the new battery i3 is nearing availability meaning this should be a good time to pick up an i3 for a great deal.

In any event, this is all great news. It further proves BMW's commitment to electric cars and their willingness to upgrade the i3 as battery technology improves. 

Lexus Video Attacks the i3. Uses Photoshop to Hide the Truth?

guess you can't blame them for trying. Desperate times call for desperate measures, they say. Lexus is at it again with their anti-EV advertising and this time they made a direct attack on the BMW i3. Still it's a little surprising that they seem so obsessed with pointing out why you don't want to buy an EV, instead of telling you why you would want to buy one of their hybrids. It seem to me that it's kind of like when a politician has nothing good to say about themselves, so they run their entire campaign on spreading FUD about their opponent. Let me recap what has led up to this latest attack.

Back in May Lexus put out some questionable information and videos on their consumer website that was highly criticized for having incorrect content regarding electric vehicles. In fact the information was so outdated and incorrect that it brought about a response from Plug In America:

Hey, Toyota, the 1990s called. They want their outdated anti-EV attack ad back. Plug-in electric vehicles charge while you're sleeping at home, far more convenient than making a trip to a gas station and coming away smelling like carcinogens. Driving on electricity costs about one fifth what it costs to drive the average gas car and about a third what it costs to drive the most efficient hybrid. An electric drive has smooth, instant acceleration which can't be matched by any gasoline engine. If you don't believe me, just ask anyone driving a Toyota RAV4 EV.  (disclosure: I am currently a board member of Plug In America)

Lexus got the message and a company spokesman pulled the incorrect information from their website and issued an apology. However about four months later they ran an ad that showed a lonely EV charging station, alone in a dark parking lot with the 8 steps to driving electric:

 

1) Closely monitor charge status
2) Turn off A/C and radio to conserve power
3) Download app to locate charging stations
4) Get lost searching for charger
5) Experience surge in range anxiety
6) Finally find charger
7) Plug in and wait four hours
8) Repeat

OK, so after it was clear this was a full-on mudslinging campaign, and certainly an indication Lexus was worried about the pressure they were getting from their electric competition. So now they put out this five minute long video, aimed at showing how miserable it would be to take a BMW i3 on a long drive. I'm not arguing the fact that the i3 isn't the perfect road trip vehicle, and using the BEV version would make a 300+ mile trip an adventure of sorts, especially today without the availability of DC quick charge stations. However it's kind of silly to think someone would head off into the desert on a 302 mile trip with an 81 mile EV without thinking about it first. That would be like taking a smart car on a fishing trip up a dirt-road mountain, knowing you have to cross a few streams and rocky passes along the way. Horses for courses, they say. In any event, yes we know the BEV i3 would take a long time to make this 302 mile trip, but how about if the i3 they used had the optional range extender?

It's very hard to see in this screen shot, but the outline of the top of the gas filler door is right behind the guy on the right, about waist high. If you watch the video and pause it at the 4.23 mark, you can see it better.

 *Hat tip to Inside EVs reader Martin B. He was the first one to notice the outline of the gas filler door in the video.

While it still wouldn't be the perfect vehicle for this type of trip, the i3 REx  could have done it much faster than the BEV i3. Yes, they would have had to stop five times to fill up the tiny gas tank, but since it's so small, it only takes about two minutes total (I've timed it!) for a gas station pit stop. So figure about 10 to 20 minutes added to the trip as compared to the Lexus hybrid. However as depicted in the video they took a BEV i3 by mistake, not knowing they'd have to stop to plug it in right? Maybe not. If you watch the video very closely, at the 4.23 mark for a brief moment you can see the top edge of the gas filler door just as one of the actors moves. So Lexus actually used an i3 REx for at least this scene and perhaps the entire video. Could they have used multiple i3's or did they photoshop out the gas filler door for most of the video, but missed it on this one brief scene. To me, that makes it so much more egregious. If the car they were driving in the video actually could have done that road trip without any issue, and Lexus lied about its capabilities, photoshopped out the evidence and presented it as incapable of making the trip in a reasonable time frame then they should be taken to task.

In this picture you can also see the corner of the gas filler door. It is difficult to see here in this low-res picture but when enlarged the corner of the filler door is clear to see.

While Lexus has indeed been spreading electric vehicle FUD for a while now, this is definitely a step up in intensity. Perhaps they took a look at October's sales data and realized for the first time since its launch six months ago, the BMW i3 outsold the CT-200h in the US. How could such a crippled, limited-range car that costs $10,000 more than their hybrid outsell it? Could Toyota actually have been wrong about EV's? Do people actually want them? Whatever the case it's clear Toyota is very concerned and has resorted to scare tactics in an attempt to steer people from buying EV's and lead them to their hybrids. Good luck with that Toyota.

One last comment. I've owned seven Toyotas in my life, and currently own a 1999 Tacoma which I use to plow my driveway and parking lot, and haul large items for my restaurant. However I'm done with them. I can't support a company that has such an anti electric vehicle stance as they do, going as far as lying about them and continuously reciting the rhetoric that nobody wants them. So I have this question for Toyota: If nobody wants them, why are they outselling your hybrids?

Mountain Climbing With an i3 REx

Loveland Pass, Continental Divide, Colorado. Elevation 11,990 ft

A few weeks ago Don Parsons of Denver, Colorado took his i3 REx on a 128 mile road trip from his house to Loveland Pass (Continental Divide, Colorado). On his way up to the 11,990 ft elevation of Loveland Pass he stopped at Beau Jo's Pizza for lunch and to charge on their public ChargePoint EVSE where his i3 REx accepted 8.9kWh's of juice to help with the rest of the climb up the mountain. 

The car showed 18 miles remaining at the top of Loveland Pass, and he nearly made the trip entirely on electricity when 62 miles later the range extender kicked on and he was only 2 miles from his home. 

The trip summary: 
-64 miles each way
-8,960 feet of climbing, 2329 Feet of descending on way out
-2329 feet of climbing, 8,960 feet of descending on way back

Having heard about this Continental Divide conquest, I asked Don if he wanted to write a guest blog post about the trip, but he offered to do one better. His next challenge was to take his i3 REx up to the summit of Mt Evans which is the highest elevation paved road in the US. The trip would take him over 14,000 feet above sea level and would most certainly push the range extender beyond its limit. This was not the kind of road trip BMW envisioned people taking the car on when they designed the REx, but nonetheless they have to expect some people like Don would do just that. So what happened? Read Don's words below to find out:

I’ve had my BMW i3 REx for almost two months now and haven’t really used or tested the REx engine.  Before today, I’d driven about 1750 miles total with only about 10 miles using the engine.  I decided to drive from my house in Denver to the top of Mt. Evans and return without stopping for gas or topping off the charge.  Using the REx engine in the mountains can be tough because the output of the small engine can’t really put out enough power to go both highway speeds and climb uphill.  However, the road to the top of Mt. Evans is pretty narrow, has steep drop-offs, no guardrails and a lot of cyclists sharing the road so you really don’t want to go much faster than 35 mph.  For this reason, I thought the small engine could hopefully handle the climb.

For those that don’t know, Mt. Evans is the highest paved road in North America with an elevation of 14,130 feet above sea level!  I live in Denver which is at 5,280 feet above sea level.  It’s 63.5 miles from my house to the top Mt. Evans.  With some up and down hill climbing, the total ascent is 12,446 feet and the total descent is 3,686 getting to the summit.

I set the car into Eco Pro+ and set out on city streets of Denver, then I-70 west up the mountains to Idaho Springs.  Mt. Evans highway winds its way south from Idaho Springs to the Mt. Evans summit in 28 miles.  When I originally entered the destination into the navigation system, the guess-o-meter said 61 miles of range.  I tried to keep the cruise control set to about 5 miles over the speed limit.

I was surprised to find that the Rex engine didn’t turn on until about 52 miles into the drive (about 10 miles from the summit) with a total trip average mi/kWh of 2.8 when the REx kicked on.  However, about 1 minute after the REx turned on I got a Brake error message that ended up making the brake pedal feel stiff and pretty much unusable.  Fortunately, I was still heading uphill and the regen seemed to be working normally.

I could hear the engine speed up during the straight parts of the switchbacks and as I slowed down for the sharp curves, the engine almost immediately slowed down as well.  I never really wanted to travel faster than 35 mph so I didn’t notice any performance hit until near the summit.  On the last few switchbacks, I put my foot to the floor and couldn’t get the car to travel faster than 26 mph.  At close to 14,000 feet of elevation, the engine was probably severely limited from its usual output at sea-level.  I’ve heard people say that an ICE reduces power output by 5% for each 1,000 feet of elevation.  In any event no other cars were traveling any faster than 25 or 30 mph so I didn’t feel unsafe.

I finally made it to the top at 14,130 feet!  The temperature had gone from 68 degrees in Denver to 35 degrees and quite windy.  This road usually shuts down for the winter sometime in September so they will be expecting snow to start accumulating up there pretty soon!

As I was getting ready to head down, I was worried about whether I would have any use of the brakes since I had turned off the car and walked around the summit for about 5 minutes hoping the error would reset but it didn’t and I still had a stiff brake pedal.  Since it was 35 degrees up there, I was pretty cold and didn’t feel like waiting any longer so I thought I would start to head down and see how well the regen worked to keep the car in control.  You can imagine how happy I was to have such a high regen rate because I felt like I was in complete control all the way back home.

During the descent from the summit down to Idaho Springs I was excited to see that the regen had built up a full 25% of the battery SOC and the guess-o-meter said as high as 28 miles of range on the battery.  I drove home significantly on battery but the REx kicked in a few times where there was some climbing.  It also stayed on once I got out of the mountains but I was easily able to maintain 75 mph on the highway leading east back into the city.

Here's a screenshot of the elevation and speed of the whole trip

Some stats on the whole trip.  I traveled 127.6 miles and averaged 4.9 mi/kWh and average speed was a total of 39.6 mph.  I used a little over a quarter of the rex tank which I think is pretty minimal for traveling almost 130 miles! As you can see from the picture, the brake error was still in place when I arrived home.  However, after being on my EVSE for a little over an hour, everything was cleared out and a quick trip to grab lunch showed that everything was back to normal.

I should point out that I haven’t gotten any software updates yet as I haven’t been able to set aside the time.  Until this trip, the only error I’ve seen from the car is the Check Engine Light, which remains illuminated. There is a software update that will eliminate this waiting for me at my dealer, so I guess it's time to get the car into the shop for the updates.  Hopefully the brake error is related to the 12v battery issues that others have discussed and will also be fixed with the latest software version I'll be getting. 

When I thought about getting the i3 Rex, I figured that I would use the battery over 95% of my driving miles.  So far, it seems like I’m using the battery over 97% of my miles.  That said, I’m still happy to have the Rex as it completely takes away any range anxiety when I’m traveling in the flats of the front range of Colorado.

What about the mountains?  I was concerned about using the i3 REx in the mountains and still believe that having a REx hold mode similar to the European version of the i3 or the Chevy Volt would make this an even more enjoyable car in Colorado.  That said, a couple CCS fast chargers placed strategically off I-70 would go a long way to helping the issue.  Locations in Idaho Springs, Silverthorne (where the 8 Tesla Superchargers are located) Copper Mountain, and Vail would be ideal spots to get a quick top-off and be truly useful in the mountains.  I’ve also kept my 335xi for long distance ski trips since it has all wheel drive and is still a great car. However, even without the fast chargers I was able to make it to the summit and home without a problem.

I’m very happy with the the i3.  The performance, handling, smoothness, and quietness all contribute to a great experience.  Like others have said, it’s hard to go back to a regular internal combustion engine after experiencing electric!