[Jason]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

BMW Plans to Offer Plug-in Hybrids for Entire Model Range

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Munich/Miramas. The BMW Group is preparing to follow up its innovative and revolutionary BMW i models with plug-in hybrid versions of the core-brand models. In Miramas, France, it will present a BMW 3 Series plug-in hybrid prototype and a new generation of hybrid vehicle concepts incorporating technology already used in BMW i models. Long term, the BMW Group is planning to offer plug-in hybrid versions of all its core-brand models.

Herbert Diess, Member of the Board of Management BMW AG, Development, said:

“All BMW Group models benefit from BMW i. The fundamental technology involved in battery cells, electric motors and the power electronics will be used in our upcoming plug-in hybrid models. When it comes to the electrification of the drivetrain, we are deliberately developing a wide-ranging expertise in order to offer our customers worldwide the ideal solution.

The plug-in hybrid models presented in Miramas are equipped with a highly efficient internal combustion engine and an electric motor powered by an externally rechargeable high-voltage battery. Shorter-distance urban trips or commutes can be completed on electric power only. On longer journeys, the vehicle will usually operate in “combined mode”, with both systems working together.

The BMW 3 Series plug-in hybrid prototype combines a four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor. The internal combustion engine is based on the TwinPower Turbo four-cylinder petrol engine that has already twice been voted “International Engine of the Year”.

The electric motor and power electronics are directly based on the BMW eDrive technology already used in the BMW i3 and BMW i8 models. The prototype’s lithium-ion battery, including the battery management system and the high-efficiency direct cooling system, are likewise based on BMW i experience and know-how.

The plug-in hybrid technology is so flexible that it can be integrated in a wide variety of vehicle concepts. It will therefore be possible to deploy it rapidly across the BMW model range. The route to sustainable mobility in the future will be a multitrack one. The already efficient combustion engines will be even more economical. All-electric vehicles like the BMW i3 are tailored to urban mobility requirements while plug-in hybrids are more appropriate for longer-distance journeys. Beyond this, in the long term electric mobility in conjunction with hydrogen fuel cell technology could also be a viable option.

The focus of our Efficient Dynamics strategy is the electrification of the power train. This is an area in which we will continue to expand in the coming years. The plug-in technology will be one key lever to bring high performance vehicles well below 100 g / km CO2, while retaining the driving pleasure and driving dynamics of a BMW. We will also continue to develop fully electric mobility. Hydrogen fuel-cells will remain a key issue when it comes to drivetrain development, especially relating to its sustainable production.

Key eDrive technologies developed in-house

All the important eDrive technologies and components are developed in-house, and from next year they will all be built at the BMW plant in Dingolfing. This programme is set to create over 200 new jobs around electro-mobility at the BMW plant in Dingolfing. Many tens of millions of euros will be invested at this plant over the next five years.

“Our accumulated expertise guarantees us a competitive edge,” stated Harald Krüger, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Production. “This can be seen not only in the performance data of the BMW electric motors but also in our highly efficient production process.”

Since the BMW Group expects to be building a wide range of electric drive components in the future, production will be organised around an intelligent eDrive component-sharing system. This means that one and the same production line will be able to build high-voltage battery modules not just for the BMW i8 but also for the future BMW X5 eDrive. In the case of complete battery packs, too, the new production lines will be designed for a flexible production mix: it will be possible to build battery packs for a number of different future models all on the same lines.

Highly electrified hybrids

With the ongoing development and refinement of hybrid drive systems under the EfficientDynamics programme, the aim is to maximise the amount of time the vehicles are able to spend in electric mode. To ensure that this increased electric operation goes hand in hand with typical BMW dynamic performance, everyday practicality and maximum long-distance capability, the BMW Group’s future hybrids will be “highly electrified”. Highlights of this future Power eDrive technology will include much more powerful electric motors and batteries with twice the capacity of present versions.

The drive systems used in these future hybrid systems will offer combined outputs in excess of 500 kW. Also, the capacity of the lithium-ion batteries – up to 20 kilowatt hours – will be greatly in excess of current hybrid systems . Coupled with an increased all-electric driving range of up to 100 kilometres (62 miles), this will make it possible to operate in locally emission-free pure-electric mode on virtually all day-to-day trips.

[wdeerfield]

awesome?

[Needsdecaf]

Good. Need to do this. I was impressed with i3 but needs more range. As the technology proliferates, battery range will become cheaper.

[Das Johnson]

Relativity rich people that are concerned about MPG and the environment like.

[kevinlevrone]

I will wait until the first hybrid M.

[Imola.ZHP]

Good stuff, now allow one to option and package them to look just like "normal" models and you'll be set. I loved the i3, especially the instant torque, took it home for a few days, but didn't quite like all of the attention it gathered. I guess some people would like it, but I had places to be and things to do, I didn't much care to speak to people at each and every stop light, or stop, I encountered in my daily routine.

Also don't like that they killed the awesome sunroof for the US i3 that is available in other countries, I had a few other gripes as well, but that was the major one.

[Pauleebe]

BMW needs to do this to stay relevant.

The Model 3 from tesla is going to start biting a big chunk out of the mid size luxury segment in 2016-2017, so it's nice to see BMW preparing a response to Tesla.

[3M TAPE]

Plug-in Hybrid M cars? Sounds awesome but the weight issue..

[TheBry]

Hoping the next generation (2016 G11/12) 7-Series offers a plug-in hybrid variant. Porsche and Mercedes are offering cars in this class (Panamera S E-Hybrid and S500 Plug-In Hybrid, respectively), so BMW needs to get off the stick.

For me, it's not so much about saving the environment, or wanting to go "green". It's more about range. The fewer times I have to hit the gas pump, the better. My 2012 740Li gets decent fuel economy (for its size) on the highway, but I get abysmal MPG in city driving. A plug-in hybrid could solve that for me. I could creep along city streets in electric mode until I get on the highway, then cruise on petrol, maximizing my MPG, and limiting trips to the pump. For me, time is money.

I commute 45 miles each way to work every day, and about 10 miles of that is on city streets. Would be nice to cover those miles using battery power. The electric mode would also be awesome when crawling in pockets of bumper-to-bumper traffic.

[ORIGIN M.]

Bring us a full electric series car.

Otherwise I'm buying Tesla's upcoming Model 3 !

[Diver]

This is inevitable because plug-in hybrids are offered huge incentives when rating efficiency in both the US and EU. It will be impossible to meet size class targets in the US without them.

[VMRWheels]

Hmm, looks pretty interesting

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by Das Johnson

Relativity rich people that are concerned about MPG and the environment like.

That or those who love instant torque and lots of it.

[Enza]

Originally Posted by dwalls90

BMW needs to do this to stay relevant.

The Model 3 from tesla is going to start biting a big chunk out of the mid size luxury segment in 2016-2017, so it's nice to see BMW preparing a response to Tesla.

+1

[clbmw]

500kw systems in future... That's over 670bhp are we to expect something special on the horizon?

[Das Johnson]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

That or those who love instant torque and lots of it.

Hey yeah whats the deal with torque? After all my years of being a gearhead I never fully understood it. Is it like the force of power to the axels? (Sorry for noob off-topic question!)

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

Has anyone been successful (in numbers of vehicles sold to average consumers, not fleet sales) selling hybrid or electric versions of traditional cars? People who gravitate to hybrids or electric vehicles seem to value being seen in such a vehicle. A hybrid/electric version of a traditional car doesn't seem to stroke the ego enough.

Many tens of millions of Euros just on the plant? Imagine what those resources (plus all the design and engineering) could achieve if the focus was on high performance!

People talk about the proliferation of "M" branding as diluting the marque, but this focus on electric drivetrains is far, far more concerning to this buyer. :

[midwest 340xi 6sp]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

That or those who love instant torque and lots of it.

OR if you're like me it about

Sustainability
Instant and lots of torque
less $ to BP

[midwest 340xi 6sp]

Originally Posted by glennQNYC

Has anyone been successful (in numbers of vehicles sold to average consumers, not fleet sales) selling hybrid or electric versions of traditional cars? People who gravitate to hybrids or electric vehicles seem to value being seen in such a vehicle. A hybrid/electric version of a traditional car doesn't seem to stroke the ego enough.

Many tens of millions of Euros just on the plant? Imagine what those resources (plus all the design and engineering) could achieve if the focus was on high performance!

People talk about the proliferation of "M" branding as diluting the marque, but this focus on electric drivetrains is far, far more concerning to this buyer. :

My beliefs are different. I contend the majority (not all) of car owners looking for sustainability are more concerned about sustainability for the planet vs appearances and platitudes from others.

If you think not getting into the Electric game is a smart move, then we'll disagree on that too.

BMW has already invested BILLIONS on e tech with the i3 and i8. This next round of infrastructure is peanuts relative to that capital.

E, hybrid genie is out of the bottle...Future economics and market share are absolutely dependent on it.

And BMW will still offer straight gas obviously...But the future is going to be more and more E, Hybrid and probably hydrogen too.

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by Das Johnson

Hey yeah whats the deal with torque? After all my years of being a gearhead I never fully understood it. Is it like the force of power to the axels? (Sorry for noob off-topic question!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque

Torque values are what really count. Think of horsepower as a 'made up'
unit of measurement.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by Das Johnson

Hey yeah whats the deal with torque? After all my years of being a gearhead I never fully understood it. Is it like the force of power to the axels? (Sorry for noob off-topic question!)

The answer to that one is a bit long.

In the literal sense, a horsepower is the power required to move 550 pounds one foot in one minute. Some guy made up this measurement as a way to measure work loads and used horses as his benchmark. So horsepower is a function of time.

When engineers use horsepower to measure how hard an engine works, you need a unit of time (revolutions per minute, or RPMs) as well as a method to apply that work tangentially since all an engine does is spin very quickly. So that's when torque comes into play.

All torque measures is how much force is applied to turning something. You can apply torque without actually turning anything though (think of turning a locked door knob, you're applying torque to the door knob even though the door knob isn't moving). Once you apply enough force and actually start to turn something, then you are performing work.

So the more torque an engine makes, the more work it is capable of performing, all other factors equal.

I could go into explaining the mathematical proof for the actual formula for HP (HP = torque x RPM / 5,252) but that'd be a bit much.

So basically horsepower is a dependent variable where it relies on how fast the engine can spin over the span of a minute (RPM) and how much turning force the engine can apply (torque).

It's why high revving performance engines tend to lack torque but make up for it in how high the engines can spin. This is why torque isn't the only thing that matters like people incorrectly state, how high it can rev plays a large factor as well (the E9x M3 vs. the F8x engines are great examples of this). Given the formula of HP, any RPM below 5,252, your engine is making more torque than HP. Anything above that, you're making more HP than torque.

So bringing that back to cars with electric motors like Tesla, a big advantage of electric motors is that you hit the max torque figure and stay there the second you hit the throttle. The torque curve on electric motors are insane compared to a conventional ICE. So if you've drive a car like a 550i or even our N55 engines and like the gobs of torque you get once the engine gets revving and the turbos are spooling, an electric motor is capable of blowing that sensation away.

[Das Johnson]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

The answer to that one is a bit long.

In the literal sense, a horsepower is the power required to move 550 pounds one foot in one minute. Some guy made up this measurement as a way to measure work loads and used horses as his benchmark. So horsepower is a function of time.

When engineers use horsepower to measure how hard an engine works, you need a unit of time (revolutions per minute, or RPMs) as well as a method to apply that work tangentially since all an engine does is spin very quickly. So that's when torque comes into play.

All torque measures is how much force is applied to turning something. You can apply torque without actually turning anything though (think of turning a locked door knob, you're applying torque to the door knob even though the door knob isn't moving). Once you apply enough force and actually start to turn something, then you are performing work.

So the more torque an engine makes, the more work it is capable of performing, all other factors equal.

I could go into explaining the mathematical proof for the actual formula for HP (HP = torque x RPM / 5,252) but that'd be a bit much.

So basically horsepower is a dependent variable where it relies on how fast the engine can spin over the span of a minute (RPM) and how much turning force the engine can apply (torque).

It's why high revving performance engines tend to lack torque but make up for it in how high the engines can spin. This is why torque isn't the only thing that matters like people incorrectly state, how high it can rev plays a large factor as well (the E9x M3 vs. the F8x engines are great examples of this). Given the formula of HP, any RPM below 5,252, your engine is making more torque than HP. Anything above that, you're making more HP than torque.

So bringing that back to cars with electric motors like Tesla, a big advantage of electric motors is that you hit the max torque figure and stay there the second you hit the throttle. The torque curve on electric motors are insane compared to a conventional ICE. So if you've drive a car like a 550i or even our N55 engines and like the gobs of torque you get once the engine gets revving and the turbos are spooling, an electric motor is capable of blowing that sensation away.

Wow, Thanks! I get it now.