BMW unveils new electric i3 based on 3 Series, but it’s only for China for now

BMW unveiled today a new electric BMW i3, but unlike the previous vehicle with that name, this one is based on the 3 Series.
Therefore, BMW is unveiling the highly anticipated 3 Series, but it’s only for China for now.
Expand Expanding CloseThe future is now: After nine years, it’s time to say goodbye to the BMW i3

After a production run of nine years and more than 250,000 units sold, the BMW i3, BMW’s first “i” brand EV, will cease production later this summer. Even so, the quirky little compact can go out with its head held high, because the electric future it predicted is finally here.
Expand Expanding CloseBMW plans to reduce CO2 emissions in vehicle life cycles by 40% by 2030

German automaker BMW has announced an updated timeline to reduce carbon emissions throughout the entire life cycle of its internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, including the entire production process. In an announcement ahead of next week’s IAA Mobility conference in Munich, the local automaker announced its new goal of a 40% reduction of 2019 CO2 levels by 2030, up from its previous goal of 33.3%.
Expand Expanding CloseBMW will stop selling the i3 electric car in the US next month

BMW i3’s clock is ticking as the German automaker confirmed that it will stop selling the electric car in the US this year.
The end of the i3 comes as BMW is launching the i4 and iX electric vehicles.
Expand Expanding CloseBMW commits to i3 electric car production until 2024

BMW has committed to keep producing its i3 electric car until 2024 even though the automaker is bringing its next-generation electric vehicles to market starting next year.
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Review: rating OEM’s EV charging cords (Tesla, Audi get A’s; GM, Jaguar fail)

In this post, we review the portable EV charging cords that come standard with the following electric vehicles sold in North America: Tesla (all models), the Audi e-tron, the Nissan Leaf, the Jaguar I-Pace, the Porsche Taycan, the Chevy Bolt, the BMW i3, and Hyundai (all BEVs). This review is pretty wild; the specs (usefulness) of OEM standard charging cords are all over the place. Some car makers gave a ton of thought to this while others clearly gave none. That’s concerning, because “electricity is everywhere” is a major argument in favor of EV ownership, but that’s only meaningful if you can usefully tap the grid.
Here are the new all-electric vehicles coming in 2019

With every year, buyers have more all-electric vehicle options and 2019 is not going to be an exception.
Here are the new all-electric vehicles coming in 2019.
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BMW i3 goes all-electric in Europe due to increased battery range, holds on to gas range extender in North America

The BMW i3 is generally considered an all-electric vehicle, but it is also offered with an optional gas generator that acts as a range extender.
The German automaker now says that it is killing the range extender in Europe due to the new battery pack making it irrelevant, but they are holding on to the feature in North America and Japan.
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BMW unveils i3 battery upgrade for ‘over 160 miles’ (260 km) of range

BMW is announcing today that it is introducing a battery cell upgrade to 120 Ah in the 2019 BMW i3, which should result in a range of ‘over 160 miles’ (260 km).
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BMW says EV owners can turn i3 into ‘cash cow’, use more solar power with controllable load tech

Over the past 3 years, BMW has been running a trial of its ‘ChargeForward’ program with BMW i3 owners willing to automatically delay the charging of their vehicle at the request of their local electric utility, PG&E, in order to offset peak demand.
BMW is presenting the results of the trial and says that electric car owners can turn i3 into ‘cash cow’ and use more solar power with controllable load technology
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BMW i3 gets a 100 kWh battery pack for 435 miles of range as a proof-of-concept by Lion Smart

The BMW i3 is rumored to soon be getting a new battery cell upgrade to push the range ‘over 200 miles’, but Lion Smart thinks you can you push the vehicle a lot further.
They unveiled a BMW i3 with a 100 kWh battery pack for 435 miles of range as a proof-of-concept.
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BMW unveils new ‘electricity dispenser’ coming to the i3

BMW has released a new video called ‘A glimpse into the future by BMW i’, which they used as a strange way to announce a new feature called ‘electricity dispenser’ coming to the i3.
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BMW i3 is rumored to get a new battery cell upgrade to push the range ‘over 200 miles’

The BMW i3 has mainly seen relatively small incremental upgrades and big battery cell updates since its launch back in 2013.
Now the all-electric car is rumored to get another battery cell upgrade to push the range over 200 miles.
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Over 500 BMW i3 battery packs connect to the UK National Grid in latest large energy storage project

The use of electric car battery packs to create large energy storage projects is becoming increasingly popular.
Now, a new one made of BMW i3 battery packs is connecting to the UK National Grid and has become one of the largest to date.
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BMW is considering killing the i3 and i8 programs ahead of new generation of EVs

As BMW confirmed that it is about to unveil a series of new all-electric vehicles this year, a company executive said that they are considering getting rid of their current only all-electric vehicle, the BMW i3, and their plug-in hybrid of the same sub-brand, the BMW i8.
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5 electric cars get thoroughly winter tested in Norway, Hyundai Ioniq Electric comes out on top

Norway’s electric vehicle association decided to put 5 popular all-electric vehicles to a thorough winter test to see how they performed under harsh conditions.
Between the Nissan Leaf, VW e-Golf, Hyundai Ioniq Electric, Opel Ampera-e (Chevy Bolt EV), and the BMW i3, the association tentatively declares the Ioniq as the winner.
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Former Opel CEO buys Tesla and BMW i3 after trying to make his company go all-electric

When you are an executive at an automaker, especially the CEO, you generally drive a vehicle made by your company.
It was the case of Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann, but now that he left the automaker in the midst of GM selling the company to the PSA Group, the executive, who tried to steer Opel toward becoming an electric-only automaker, went all-electric himself with a Tesla and a BMW i3.
Here’s why it is interesting.
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California PG&E customers can get $20,500 off new 2017-2018 BMW i3s, dropping to base price to $24,000

Pacific Gas and Electric customers in California can (now until May 31st) receive an additional $10,000 off the price of a BMW i3 via the instructions on the press release below. They join Southern California Edison customers and New Jersey’s PSE&G customers in getting the $10,000 rebate.
That’s in addition to the $7500 federal tax credit and the $2500 California State EV credit for eligible incomes as well as use of the HOV lanes and other incentives. PG&E throws in a $500 Clean Fuel rebate as well. That’s a total of $20,500 off the price of the BMW i3 which starts at around $44,500 making the final base cost of the i3 $24,000. Find BMW i3 inventory and lowest prices using this link.
LAPD is apparently barely using its large fleet of BMW i3 electric vehicles

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) made a big deal of its announcement that it is leasing 288 electric vehicles, including 160 fully-electric vehicles (mostly BMW i3s) back in 2015.
But now that the fleet has been in operation for over a year, a report shows that the all-electric vehicles are barely being used.
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A look at the new BMW i3s in augmented reality with Apple’s ARKit

Earlier this year, BMW unveiled its new 2018 i3 electric car with a small design refresh and new sport package.
Today we get to take a look at the new EV with a twist – through augmented reality with BMW’s new app using Apple’s ARKit.
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BMW forced to pull i3 electric car ad with gas-powered range extender advertised as ‘clean’

The BMW i3, which is the German automaker’s only all-electric car, is also offered with a gas-powered range extender and the option is now putting the company in trouble with the UK’s consumer watchdogs.
The automaker is being asked to pull an ad that markets the vehicle as “clean” and “zero-emission.”
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BMW builds the 100,000th i3 electric car at Leipzig plant, unveils new energy storage facility

BMW celebrated today the production of its 100,000th i3 electric car at the Leipzig plant in Germany today.
While that’s a cool milestone, that wasn’t the coolest thing happening at the Leipzig plant today. For the occasion, they also inaugurated a new battery storage facility powered by old BMW i3 battery packs.
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2018 BMW i3 unveiled with small design refresh and new sport package

This week, BMW unveiled the 2018 version of its flagship all-electric vehicle, the BMW i3.
Unless you are a true fan of the i3 program, you probably won’t see anything major with this new version, which doesn’t feature any significant powertrain upgrade, but there are a few new nice changes.
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Someone paid over $100,000 for this ridiculous-looking all-electric BMW i3
The all-electric BMW i3 is already considered weird-looking for a lot of people, but at ~$43,000, it can be reasonably priced after EV incentives.
Now someone was willing to pay a lot more for an even more ridiculous-looking version of the electric car.
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