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posted by martyb on Friday September 28 2018, @04:28PM   Printer-friendly
from the EVs-are-making-a-charge-on-ICEs dept.

Roadshow:

The BMW i3 has been on sale since 2014, and in that time, BMW has seen fit to expand its battery size and, by proxy, its range. For the 2019 model year, it's getting yet another battery upgrade, and it's a big one.

The 2019 BMW i3 will come with a 42.2-kWh battery (120 amp-hours), which should permit for up to 153 miles of all-electric driving. This is a roughly 30 percent improvement over the previous 94-Ah battery, which allowed for 115 miles of range. The i3's first battery was just 60 Ah, offering a range of just 81 miles. Oh, how far we've come.

BMW will offer the battery in both variants of the i3. The standard i3 uses a 170-horsepower electric motor, powerful enough to get the little EV to 60 mph in just 7.2 seconds. The i3s, on the other hand, is the sportier trim, offering a 181-hp electric motor and a 6.8-second sprint to 60.

Will EVs (electric vehicles) like this succeed in replacing ICEs (internal combustion engines) as commuter cars?


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  • (Score: 2) by VLM on Friday September 28 2018, @07:31PM (2 children)

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Friday September 28 2018, @07:31PM (#741498)

    Given that my last full time commute (before work at home) was 20 miles, I suspect I'm not getting a shorter range version for 13% of list price.

    Eventually the "tyranny" of marketing driven range anxiety will crack the market, and people will be like "fuck $45K for something that drives 7 commutes between charges, I want the exact same car with one commute range for six grand". Ironically the reality is hauling 153 miles of batteries is not free, so a tenth the mass (also cost) of battery would not get 15.3 miles range, probably more like 30-40 miles. Batteries are heavy.

    Just like my commuter car can tow a 2000 pound trailer so to keep the math simple 5000 total pounds of vehicle plus trailer carries 2000/5 is roughly 400 gallons of gas is about 10 kilomiles on one massive thousand or so dollar refueling; however cutting back to 3000 pounds of car doesn't mean zero range because ten gallons which weighs practically nothing gets me like 300 miles right now, plus I don't have to pay for and maintain a 400 gallon external gas tank and the overall economy and performance is better. A 20 mile range electric BMW could probably break 4 seconds 0-60 by being so light.

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  • (Score: 2) by NewNic on Friday September 28 2018, @07:44PM

    by NewNic (6420) on Friday September 28 2018, @07:44PM (#741505) Journal

    Your analysis does not take into account regeneration.

    1. A lot of the energy lost in accelerating the larger battery is recaptured during regenerative braking.
    2. Bigger batteries generally allow a higher regeneration power (you can energy into a larger battery at a faster rate).

    The impact of larger batteries is not so great. See the MPGe ratings on this page:
    https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2018_Tesla_Model_S.shtml [fueleconomy.gov]

    --
    lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday September 28 2018, @09:45PM

    by bob_super (1357) on Friday September 28 2018, @09:45PM (#741558)

    Interesting article on the Chinese market:
    https://cleantechnica.com/2018/09/28/new-byd-tang-1-in-august-in-china-china-electric-car-sales-report/ [cleantechnica.com]
    Look at those ranges and sales numbers. The US market is definitely a lot more challenging than the old continent.