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BMW shrugs off SA’s power woes with electric-vehicle launch

20th March 2015

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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A second fully electric vehicle has entered the South African market following the local debut of the Nissan Leaf in 2013.

The BMW i3 BEV sells for R525 000, while the derivative with a range extender, the i3 REx, sells for R595 000.

The vehicle is the German carmaker’s first volume-produced fully electric vehicle.

The electric motor in the i3 generates output of 125 kW, with a maximum torque of 250 Nm on tap from the moment the car pulls away.

Moving from zero to 100 km/h takes 7.2 seconds, with the top speed capped at 150 km/h in the interests of efficiency.

Energy recuperation mode is activated the moment the driver takes his or her foot off the accelerator. The electric motor switches from drive to generator mode, feeding power back to the lithium-ion battery. This generates a braking effect – especially discernable at low speeds – that takes a few kilometres to get used to.

It is almost possible to drive the i3 without touching the brake pedal.

The high-voltage battery in the i3 consists of eight modules producing 360 V and generating gross energy of 22 kWh. The battery pack weighs around 230 kg, and BMW South Africa (SA) provides it with an eight-year/100 000 km warranty.

Battery life is around ten years.

On the REx derivative, an engine generates electric power that keeps the i3 going for longer.

This engine is a 650 cc, two-cylinder petrol engine developing 28 kW, fuelled by a 9 ℓ tank.

The BEV has a range of 160 km, and the REx a range of 300 km, says BMW SA group automotive communications manager Edward Makwana.

He says global trials and studies, using electric Minis, have shown that most people drive 47 km a day, on average.

Driving around in Cape Town, the range on both the i3 derivatives proved reliable and steady, with highway driving not devouring the range much faster than city driving. This ensured a predictable drive, easing the range anxiety often coupled with electric vehicles.

Standard charging of the i3 can take up to eight hours, while an alternating current fast charge can ‘fill’ the battery in three hours. A direct current rapid charge can do the same in around 30 minutes, notes Makwana.

The i3 comes with an i Wallbox charger, at a purchase and installation fee of R25 000, even though the vehicle can also be charged through a normal wall socket.

Makwana says the cost to charge the vehicle fully – taking all variables into account – is around R15.16 at the standard tariff, while the cost of diesel to cover 100 km is R56.

As there is no internal combustion engine in the i3 BEV, maintenance on this model should also be cheaper than for a standard vehicle.

The low weight, achieved by using carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) in the body shell, also assists the i3 to achieve its range.

At 1 195 kg, the i3 BEV compares well with the Leaf, which weighs in at 1 493 kg.

The driver is updated on the range remaining and the charging status of his or her i3 through a smartphone and smartwatch app.

Inside the vehicle, connectivity provides the driver with information on range, charging stations in the area, as well as possible routes.

But what about load-shedding? Does Eskom’s regime of random power cuts not significantly inhibit the sale of electric vehicles in South Africa?

Load-shedding does not take place at night, says BMW.

Makwana also notes that the German carmaker was working on introducing a dedicated garage, with solar panels, that should provide all the energy the i3 requires.

Also, BMW does not believe that the i3 will be a household’s first vehicle, but rather the second or third vehicle – an urban runaround – travelling only 50 km or 60 km a day.

Insurance costs will also not be excessive.

According to the insurance industry, the i3’s risk profile is equal to that of a BMW 118i, and the i8 equal to a BMW M3 or M4.

The i8
The sleek BMW i8 is the second model in the ‘i’ stable, and the first plug-in hybrid from the group.

The sportscar, also with a CFRP body, weighs in at 1 485 kg.

It makes use of a three-cylinder petrol engine, combined with electric drive technology, in the form of a hybrid synchronous electric motor.

The engine has a displacement of 1.5 ℓ, output of 170 kW and maximum torque of 320 Nm, while the electric motor has an output of 96 kW and maximum torque of 250 Nm.

The combination of the two provides a maximum system output of 266 kW, with the car capable of travelling from zero to a 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds.

The i8 can be charged using the i Wallbox, or any conventional power socket.

The range of the electric motor alone is around 37 km.

Gullwing doors and the eager purr of a sportscar provide the vehicle with ‘street cred’, as proved by the number of people eager to take photos of the i8 in and around Cape Town and Stellenbosch.

Realistic fuel consumption in South African conditions is around 5 ℓ to 7 ℓ per 100 km, notes BMW SA, and not 2.1 ℓ as promised in the brochure.

The i8 sells for R1.76-million, and is aimed at the environmental-conscious wealthy, those with multicar garages, and sportscar enthusiasts.

BMW SA sells the i3 and i8 at four dealerships, namely Club Motors Fountains, in Pretoria; Sandton Auto, in Johannesburg; SMG, in Cape Town; and Supertech, in Durban.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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