German car giant, BMW Group has revealed that it will make plug-in hybrid versions of all its core-brand models.
The move follows the success of the company’s BMW i models and fits in with the manufacturer’s long-term vision for transport.
Herbert Diess, member of the board of management BMW AG, Development, explained: “All BMW Group models benefit from BMW i. The fundamental technology involved in battery cells, electric motors and the power electronics will be used in our upcoming plug-in hybrid models. When it comes to the electrification of the drivetrain, we are deliberately developing a wide-ranging expertise in order to offer our customers worldwide the ideal solution.”
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Looking out to the future, the company predicts that shorter-distance trips, such as the vast majority of commutes, will be made entirely on electric power. However, BMW believes that longer journeys will still need to rely on a combustion engine to operate in a ‘combined mode’. BMW claims that the technology developed in its BMW i models is flexible enough that it can easily be integrated into its car range, as a result BMW states that it can “deploy it [electric motor and power electronics] rapidly across the BMW model range”.
BMW’s aim is to maximise the amount of time its hybrid vehicles spend in electric mode, committing itself to “highly electrified” hybrids in the future. BMW predicts that future models will possess much more powerful electric motors that will boast batteries with twice the capacity of today’s versions. For example, BMW predicts that the drive system of its future hybrids will deliver combined outputs of more than 500kW, with lithium-ion batteries of up to 20kWh. The company predicts that the combination will allow an all-electric driving range of over 60 miles –making it possible to operate in locally emission-free, pure-electric mode for the vast majority of day-to-day trips.
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