"Life Module" mated to an aluminum "Drive Module"
Body and chassis The i3 was the first
mass production car with most of its internal structure and body made of
carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). BMW took advantage of the absence of a forward
internal combustion engine, giving the i3 a "clean sheet design" with a sports-like appearance. The i3 includes four doors and seating for four occupants with rear clamshell doors. Finally, the finished pieces are assembled into the Life Module by 173 robots at BMW Leipzig, using adhesives only. The door panels of the i3 are made of
hemp, which mixed with plastic helps lower the weight of each panel by about 10%.
Hemp fibers, left exposed, also form a design element of the car's interior and contribute to sustainability. Further environmental consciousness is reflected in the optional seat leather, which is tanned with olive-leaf extract and the dashboard trim, which is made from environmentally refined wood from certified cultivation in Europe. By November 2010, BMW had demonstrated the passenger compartment's light weight, and the automaker's chief executive said they had already decided on the basic design of the car and that road-testing prototypes began soon after. Bridgestone call this combination of changes "ologic", supplying similar tires to
World Solar Challenge teams. At launch Bridgestone were the sole tyre supplier for the BMW i3, but since launch Nankang, Continental and recently Michelin have begun to supply 155 and 175 widths.
Weight Powertrain located between the rear wheels with empty space at the right available for the range-extending gasoline engine The i3 uses a unique
powertrain consisting of a 125kW (168hp) synchronous permanent magnet
electric motor powered by
lithium-ion batteries and driving the rear axle. A range-extender option is available, adding a small rear-mounted 647cc petrol engine from a
BMW motorcycle to recharge the high voltage battery when it is low on power.
Battery, range, and economy BMW aimed to achieve a range of , the same range that was expected for the
BMW ActiveE, but in order to reduce weight, battery capacity was cut to 16
kWh instead of the ActiveE's 30 kWh. As initially sold (2014–16 model years), the vehicle's official
range is for the 60
Ah battery option under the
New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), and up to in the most efficient driving mode. Under the
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cycle, the official range of the 60 Ah model is with combined
fuel economy of 124
miles per gallon gasoline equivalent —MPGe— (1.90 L/100 km; 149 mpg imp). The 2014–16 model years with the range extender option have an official NEDC total range of . The battery is lithium ion using nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) chemistry with a peak output of 139kW (for 10 seconds), peak
regen of 53kW (for 10 seconds) and nominal voltage of 355V. BMW estimates the energy consumption is 0.21 kWh/mile in everyday driving. Range and economy varies depending on the presence of the range extending internal combustion engine and larger batteries fitted to later models: With these ratings the all-electric BMW i3 was the most fuel efficient EPA-certified vehicle sold in the United States of all years regardless of fuel type until November 2016, when it was surpassed by the
Hyundai Ioniq Electric, rated at 136 MPGe (25 kWh/100 mi). Similarly, the i3 REx in 2014 was the most efficient EPA-certified current year vehicle with a gasoline engine, replacing the
Chevrolet Volt. for
electric cars rated up until July 2017 and priced under in the U.S. Only
model year with 2016 and 2017 cars included In July 2016, BMW released the 2017
model year (MY) BMW i3 with an improved 94
Ah (33
kWh) battery pack, 50% more capacity than the previous model, resulting in an increase of its range to under the EPA cycle, an increase of over the 60 Ah variant. The 2017 BMW i3 REx with the larger 94 Ah battery has an EPA-rated range of , and combined fuel economy rating is 111 MPG-e. The range using the gasoline-powered engine increased to from in the previous versions. The battery rating was again increased in 2018 to 120 Ah, which results in a total capacity of 42.2 kWh. The 2019 BMW i3 REx with 120 Ah battery has an EPA-rated battery-only range of , a combined gas and electric range of miles, and a combined fuel economy rating of 100 MPG-e.
Charging (Combo 1 in North America) that can charge at up to 7-11 kW
AC (with the type 2 charge port) depending on the model and 50 kW
DC. BMW designed the i3 eDrive powertrain based on the premise that the battery would need to be recharged only once every two to three days. The charging frequency was derived from field trial results taken from the BMW ActiveE and MINI E vehicles in Asia, Europe and the U.S., whereby the typical commuting use between the pilot users' homes and workplaces was calculated. Later 94Ah and 120Ah models take proportionally longer. In the US, the i3 can also be charged from any public charging station with an
SAE J1772 connector. In 2016, BMW and the
PG&E utility in California expanded an experiment of
delaying charge-up during
peak demand and compensating i3 owners for the delay. BMW claims that the i3 is the first fully online all-electric vehicle, but the
Tesla Model S has had full
3G Internet connectivity since 2012.
Additional mobility BMW i introduced the BMW i Flexible Mobility Program for trips where the range of a BMW i3 would not be enough to allow customers to cover longer distances, such as providing a conventional BMW vehicle for a specified number of days per year. The program started in October 2014 in the US and individual dealers can choose whether to participate in this program. BMW is also offering a roadside assistance program in areas of high sales. The assistance vehicle will provide a charge so the i3 can travel to the next charging station. In addition, the i3 digital display panel shows the location of nearby recharging stations to alleviate range anxiety.
Range extender option (i3 REx) version (REx) gasoline fuel door is at the right front side An optional petrol/gasoline
range extender engine is marketed as
REx The system is intended as an emergency backup to extend range to the next recharging location, and not for long-distance travel. The 647 cc engine as fitted in the i3 REx is derated compared to the engine of the same displacement in the C650 GT; the REx engine develops and at 4,300 RPM, achieving compliance with
Euro-6 emissions standards compared to the (at 7,500 RPM) and (at 6,000 RPM) for the engine in the C650 GT, which complies with the less restrictive Euro-4 emissions. The REx engine operates when battery capacity drops to a pre-specified level, generating electricity to extend the range. However, model year 2014–2016 i3 REx vehicles in the U.S. are electronically limited to a fuel capacity of , in accordance with the car's classification as a range-extended battery-electric vehicle; with the full capacity, the gasoline-extended range would exceed the all-electric range, which would classify the car as a plug-in hybrid instead. The European model REx has an extended range of approximately . In the United States with the limited tank, under EPA five-cycle testing, the i3 REx has a total range of , of which approximately half [] is all-electric.
United States / California regulation The range-extender option of the BMW i3 was designed to meet the
California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulation for an
auxiliary power unit (APU). According to rules adopted in March 2012 by CARB, the 2014 BMW i3 with a REx unit fitted is the first car ever to qualify as a
range-extended battery-electric vehicle or "BEVx". CARB describes this type of electric vehicle as "a relatively high-electric range battery-electric vehicle (BEV) to which an APU is added." The unit, which maintains battery charge at about 30% after the pack has been depleted in normal use, is strictly limited in the additional range it can provide. As a BEVx, the car is required to deliver a minimum electric range. In addition, CARB certification of the i3 REx as BEVx allows the i3 with range extender to be eligible for a
Clean Vehicle Rebate, the same amount eligible pure electric cars are entitled to. Other plug-in hybrids are eligible for only a purchase rebate. Since the 2017 model years and newer i3 REx have the same battery as the all-electric models, newer i3 REx cars have an increased all-electric range due to the higher capacity 94 Ah battery (2017–18) and 120 Ah battery (2019–22) that now exceeds its gas-powered range. For example, the 2017 model year i3 REx equipped with the range extender has a total range of , of which is all-electric. The BMW i3 has two pedals like all cars with
automatic transmission. The accelerator pedal acts as both accelerator and engine brake. When the driver releases the pedal, the vehicle's kinetic energy is
regenerated by the vehicle drivetrain to recharge the battery. This has the effect of slowing the car down. During the field testing of the
Mini E, which has an accelerator that recharges the battery in this way, and consists of brakes that only apply to the rear wheels, BMW has learned that drivers tend to rely on the engine brake: around 75% of all deceleration maneuvers are initiated without the brake pedal in urban traffic areas.
Operating modes The BMW i3 allows the driver to select the car energy consumption through three different driving modes: Comfort, Eco Pro or Eco Pro+ mode. In the standard Comfort mode the i3 delivers a range between in everyday driving conditions, while the i3 REx delivers between . The Eco Pro mode increases the driving range by around 12% through a different accelerator pedal mapping which uses less power. In Eco Pro+ mode, all settings are geared to achieving the maximum possible range, increasing the driving range by about 24% compared with Comfort mode. In this mode, the maximum speed of the BMW i3 is limited to and electrical devices such as the heating and air conditioning are switched to energy-saving mode. The i3s, introduced for the 2018 model year, adds a SPORT drive mode.
Safety The
European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) awarded the i3 a four-star car safety rating, resulting in the following ratings for each criterion: The BMW i3's overall ratings are lower than the other six best-selling plug-in electric vehicles, the
Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid,
Renault Zoe,
Nissan Leaf,
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV,
Chevrolet Volt and
Opel Ampera, all of which were rated five stars. ==Production==