I, personally, have spent quite a bit of time in BMW’s new iPerformance plug-in hybrids. Having spent extensive time in both the BMW X5 xDrive40e and 740e iPerformance, I can tell you that neither of those cars offer especially good fuel economy nor great electric range. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t good cars nor does it mean they miss their mark. So what’s the point then?
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In both cars, pure electric range is realistically around 10 miles. While BMW will claim 14 miles or 19 miles, neither car will get anywhere near that. If the battery is fully juiced, the outside temperature is a prefect 70 degree fahrenheit and you drive only downhill, sure you’ll hit those claimed numbers. But in realistic driving in realistic situations, you’d be lucky to break 10 miles of pure electric range. These cars are strictly hybrids, with pure electric plug-in functions as a cherry on top of the cake.
The point of this is two-fold. One of the reasons is to slowly introduce electric technology to the customer. Most car buyers are completely uneducated in the world of electric cars. They don’t understand them, they don’t know how they work and they don’t really know if they want to get involved. However, if BMW can offer them plug-in hybrid versions of cars they already buy but offer better fuel economy and the ability to drive completely under electric power if the customer so chooses, those skeptical customers will be able to taste the EV life without having to take a bite. You can drive either of those cars like regular cars, without ever plugging them in, or you can plug them in every night and try to maximize your efficiency. It really allows the customer to drive it as they wish and test the EV waters at their own pace.
Another reason is an unsexy business reason and that’s to make some of the money back BMW spent on developing these technologies. BMW is currently developing, and has been doing so for some time, new electric technology and trying to develop new battery tech. Those technologies cost a lot of money and, considering that BMW is doing this for the future, that cost needs to be offset by selling plug-in hybrids of BMW’s current models.
So while these plug-in hybrids aren’t splashy and don’t make big waves in the world of EVs, they’re important to the brand. But this isn’t only a BMW thing, as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen are all doing the same thing. So fans may mock these cars and their puny electric ranges but they do serve a purpose and actually sell well enough.
[Source: Green Car Reports]
If we compare the regular mpg of a 740i to the 740e or x5 35i to the x5 40e in auto eDrive, what’s the improvement in mixed use from one to the other? Is it barely noticeable or is it enough to sway consumers to try these out at a small premium in the car’s price?
You forgot another big reason for BMW and others why they need those cars: fleet emission goals in europe.
And its maybe completely different from country to country – in Netherlands they sell more 3er PHEV than any other 3er!
I fully disagree, having owned a 330e for 6 months now, it is truly an astounding car, both technologically and mechanically. Although most of the miles driven may not be electric, most of the time I’ve spent in the car has been.
I don’t know what 10 mile range you’re talking about, I’ve actually gotten 20 while hypermiling and can easily get 15 with AC on..
In my college town I have a townhouse with a carport underneath, the car can charge in any of the 3 spots and is fully charged every night. The engine hasn’t kicked on once in the 3 months since this semester began, except when I accidentally put it in “battery save” mode. I have all the benefits of an electric car around town, such as silent operation, instant torque delivery and an inverse effect on mileage; normal gasoline cars struggle to get 15 mpg in the hills of my town, whereas the 330e gets over 100. I’m talking every errand and activity I could possibly do is able to be accomplished electrically. 0-30 is the only real stat that matters in heavy city driving and the motor inside that ZF gets you there quickly, plus regens whenever the car stops. All without the pathetic, asthmatic cough of the normal start/stop.
If I leave town and head to the highway, I can drive completely electricly from my home up to speed on the highway and cruise at 75 and still get 45 mpg, long after the SOC drops below 10%. The 10.5 gallon tank never costs more than $25 to fill and I don’t have to stop to charge once, with a range of 450 miles, the car suffers none of the drawbacks of an electric car.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e376287ba579f68c33fa69fbc50252bf1fca79129dafe18eee91816f86f16426.jpg
The 330e makes sense, it is not too heavy and won’t deplenish the battery too fast. But the X5 and the 7er are way too heavy for that.
Lets not forget less personal tax liability..
BMW 330e BIK 7%
BMW 316d BIK 21%
BMW 330i BIK 27%
Makes sense for company car owners.
I’ve seen the X5 40e at Geneva car show.
The battery pack takes so much space in the back (and the space to put all the cables as well) that you have less space than a 3 series !
You can cleary see that this car had not been designed from the ground up to be hybrid, why not putting the battery pack under the rear seats ?
My clients who have taken delivery of X5 40e for sure get more than 10 electric miles. 4 people, in winter, around town. 15-20 miles on all electric.
How do the “e” versions interact with Germanys LEZ zones? Given 10 mile range or so seems it could transit most cities under electric power. Does this have an impact on the rating or operation of said vehicles? Perhaps a German native could explain this. Perhaps changes taxation or allows operation inside center areas of town.
http://gis.uba.de/website/umweltzonen/index_engl.html
Seems like emissions in certain zones would be more of a driver than amortization of development.