BMW's new i3 covers 1,213 km on a single charge
BMW drove its new China-only i3 50L 1,213 km on a single charge in an endurance test. The car reached its destination with 1% battery remaining.
BMW began series production of its sixth-generation battery technology at its plant in Shenyang, China, on Oct. 15. The 240,000-square-meter facility, built with an investment of 10 billion yuan, is five times the size of the brand's existing battery production area in the region. The new batteries will be used in the brand's next-generation Neue Klasse models, starting with the iX3 and i3.
Arriving with 1% battery
To showcase what the technology can do, BMW ran a long-distance test with the i3 50L, an electric sedan built specifically for the Chinese market. The car covered 1,213 km on a single charge and reached its destination with 1% battery left. The result equals 118% of its official range.
Over the journey, which combined highway, intercity and urban driving, average energy consumption was 8.8 kWh per 100 km.
400 km in 10 minutes
The test car uses a 113.4 kWh battery with cylindrical cells and an 800-volt architecture. The system supports fast charging at up to 400 kW and can add 400 km of range in 10 minutes. The test used the rear-wheel-drive version; the lineup will also include a dual-motor version producing 463 horsepower and 645 Nm of torque.
The new i3 is scheduled to enter production and go on sale in China in the last quarter of this year.
This article was compiled with the help of AI from information published by CarNewsChina.
