BMW i4 electric sedan set for early 2022 launch priced from $99,900 MSRP
The BMW i4 M50. Images: BMW
i4 eDrive40 priced from $99,900 MSRP, offering 250kW/430Nm from a single motor with a 590 kilometre WLTP range
i4 M50 priced from $124,900 MSRP, offering 400kW/795Nm from two motors with xDrive
all-wheel-drive with 510 kilometre WLTP rangeM50 model performs 0-100km/h sprint in 3.9-seconds
BMW Operating System 8 fitted as standard
5 years free DC rapid charging with the Chargefox network in Australia
It wasn’t long ago that Klaus Fröhlich, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development said in an interview that the discussion around electric vehicles was “a bit irrational”. His qualified this with “Perhaps in the eastern region of China; Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong … they might be 100 per cent electric. But the world – Russia, Australia, USA, big portions of Europe – they will have combustion engines for a very long time.”
And yet here we are. BMW has always been famous for its sports sedans, having sold close to 5 million 3 series models since the line was introduced in the mid-1970s. The company was also an early pioneer in electrification, with the quirky i3 city car sporting a revolutionary mass-produced carbon monocoque, and making recycled plastic and hemp fibre interiors cool, long before the likes of Mazda, Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz started on the trend.
The i4 eDrive40 is a handsome liftback.
The i4 is a liftback sedan (similar to the petrol and diesel-powered 4 series) based on BMW’s Cluster Architecture (CLAR). This flexible platform was built for EVs from the ground up, maximising packaging efficiency for electric motors and drivetrain components.
The i4 eDrive40 and i4 M50 will land in Australia with adaptive M suspension as standard and M Sport brakes, M Light alloy wheels, and variable sport steering. The M50 adds electric all-wheel-drive and a second motor for greater acceleration. Speaking of which, 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) is dispatched in 3.9 seconds on the M50 variant, and 5.7 seconds on the eDrive40 model.
In terms of battery technology, the pack is comprised of four modules with 72 cells each and three 12-cell modules, for a total of 324 cells and 84 kWh (gross). BMW states 200kW DC fast charging is possible, which will be free for owners for the first 5 years when using Chargefox infrastructure. The automaker claims the car’s range can be increased by as much as 164 kilometres (102 miles) in 10 minutes at a 10 percent state of charge. While certainly rapid, it pales in comparison to Hyundai’s 800 volt IONIQ 5 which adds 100 km (62 miles) of range in four minutes when charging at 220 kW.
BMW has invested a lot of money in its electric vehicle production; one hundred percent green energy is used for both vehicle production and battery cell manufacturing, and the company has set an ambitious goal of net carbon-neutral production across all locations by the end of 2021. At this year’s annual general meeting, the BMW group announced that it will avoid the emission of over 200 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030.
Scroll down for pricing and standard equipment for the Australian market, as well as a gallery of images.
