BMW
will launch during this year, in the fourth quarter to be more precise, the new
i3 electric vehicle. The compact car will also have a long-range version, on
which, BMW will offer a two-cylinder motorcycle engine and a generator.
Herbert
Diess, BMW’s head of research and development department, said the package will
be offered as an option on the i3, but did not say how much it will cost.
The
i3 has a range of 60 to 90 miles,on a single electrical charge. Dies said that
a two-cylinder gasoline engine, derived from a BMW motorcycle, extends the
range to about 250 miles on a tank of gasoline. The engine is housed in the
trunk and connected to a generator that recharges the battery. BMW ensured the
clients that its combustion engine doesn’t transmit mechanical power directly
to the wheels.
"I
imagine many buyers will order the range extender to cure their range anxiety,
discovering later they need it very seldom," Diess told Automotive
News.
He
expects the order rate for the option could exceed 50 percent with early
buyers, then stabilize at about 20 percent.

Source: BMW