BMW Releases Preview Of Electric Sports Sedan
BMW released their new i Visionary Dynamics concept at the Frankfurt Auto Show, detailing what a modern electric i5 model will look like. This car should be in production in four years, and by 2025, they expect to have 25 EVs on the market.
Updated May 26 2019, 11:41 a.m. ET
BMW unveiled their new i Vision Dynamics concept vehicle at the 2017 Frankfurt Auto Show. The four-door hatchback sedan is the manufacturer’s latest vision of the electric vehicle, which will become a standard option among all their models beginning in 2020. It’s an announcement that certainly suggests that they're ready to battle with giants in the industry like Tesla.
The new i Vision Dynamic production car is expected to meet in the middle of the i3 and i8 models, the former being a city car and the other being a sports vehicle. BMW will call it a “Gran Coupe,” and the model will have a sloped roof that resembles a two-door coupe but features four doors. Similar to Tesla’s vehicles, there will be a minimalist approach to the design. A production version is coming in the near future, according to the company.
As for power, it can reach 0 to 64 miles per hour in four seconds and has a top speed of nearly 125 miles per hour. Range is also quite impressive at 373 miles. Tesla’s luxury sedan, equipped with the Model S 100D, can last for 335 miles and currently boasts the longest range of currently released electric vehicles.
"At the BMW Group, the future of electric mobility has already arrived," BMW chairman Harald Krüger said in a statement to Business Insider. "With the BMW i Vision Dynamics we are showcasing how we envisage future electric mobility between the i3 and i8: a dynamic and progressive, four-door Gran Coupe. We are therefore electrifying the heart of the BMW brand and, at the same time, elevating BMW i into a totally new dimension."
We don’t know much about what’s inside the car, but Autoblog notes that, “the long wheelbase hints at a sizable interior...and the full-length glass roof would give it an airy cabin.” No prices or further details were announced in the electrified i5 vehicle, but it’s expected to be released in 2021. By 2025, the manufacturer plans to have 25 electric vehicles available, and about half of them will be fully electrified.
BMW’s transition to electric vehicles continues a massive trend away from the internal combustion engine. It could be a rocky change for many of them as Daimler announced that they would be cutting up to $4.8 million in costs by importing parts and creating all variety of models in the same manufacturing plants. It was the first time a manufacturer was very transparent about the switch being less profitable.
The German manufacturer plans to stick to its original goal of a return on sales from eight to 10 percent. BMW CEO Harald Krueger told Reuters that their European share of sales on “diesel engines had dropped to 69.3 percent from 74.3 percent,” but it isn’t enough to reduce the value of the vehicles. We’ll see if BMW adjusts in the future, but for now they’re certainly ready to compete with others in the EV industry.
