BMW is about to unveil its next electric vehicle, the BMW i4, at the Geneva Motor Show next month and it is releasing today the first teaser image for the car.
After launching the BMW i3, the brand’s first electric car, in 2013, we expected BMW to release the BMW i4, i5, etc., but it didn’t happen.
BMW didn’t release any new all-electric vehicles for 7 years, but it is finally now preparing to since it plans to launch 3 new ones in the next two years.
The BMW iX3, an all-electric SUV, is due to go on sale by the end of the year and the BMW i4, an all-electric sedan, and the BMW iNEXT, an all-electric crossover, are being brought to market in 2021.
Those new vehicles are all based on BMW’s upcoming fifth-generation electric powertrain.
It is expected to enable a much longer range and higher performance than BMW ‘s current electric vehicles.
Now BMW is getting ready to unveil the i4, which is going to be a 4-door all-electric Gran Coupe, at the Geneva Motor Show next week.
The German automaker wrote about the car in a press release today:
“The BMW Concept i4 heralds a new era in Sheer Driving Pleasure; it provides a whole new take on the dynamic excellence for which BMW is renowned and blends a modern, elegantly sporty design with the spaciousness and practicality of a four-door Gran Coupe – all while generating zero local emissions.”
Although they still call it a concept, it is unveiled only about a year before the start of production and therefore, it is expected to be fairly representative of the production version.
BMW released a new teaser image of the vehicle today:
The teaser gives us a good look at the outline of the BMW i4 – although we already had a good idea about it with some pictures of camouflaged prototypes.
Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design, commented on the design of the BMW i4:
“The BMW Concept i4 brings electrification to the core of the BMW brand. The design is dynamic, clean and elegant. In short: a perfect BMW that happens to be zero emission.”
In terms of specs, we already know a few details about the i4’s powertrain.
BMW claims that the electric sedan is going to be able to achieve a range of 600 km (373 miles) on an 80 kWh battery. Although, they are talking about the range based on the WLTP and the real-world range is likely going to be close to 300-320 miles on a single charge.
The automaker says that “the electric motor developed for the BMW i4 delivers a maximum output of around 390 kW/530 hp.”
It enables some impressive performance:
“In addition to the sporty, elegant design that is typical of a 4-door coupé of the brand, the BMW i4 is characterised by impressive performance features. The BMW i brand’s first Gran Coupé accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in around 4.0 seconds, achieving a top speed of more than 200 km/h.”
As for the charging capacity, BMW says that the BMW i4 will be able to charge at up to 150 kW:
“The next generation charging unit is characterised by a uniform package suitable for all future vehicle architectures. It can be used in plug-in hybrid models as well as in purely electrically powered vehicles and is designed for a charging capacity of up to 150 kW. This allows the high-voltage battery of the BMW i4 to be charged to around 80 per cent of its full energy content in around 35 minutes. This results in a charging time of around six minutes for a range of 100 kilometres.”
The BMW i4 concept is going to be unveiled on March 3, 2020, at the Geneva Motor Show and it is expected to go into production in 2021.
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