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When we [Ars Technica] reviewed the BMW i3 back in 2014, the little rear-wheel drive city car left us quite impressed. However, the i3 has always had a couple of flaws in comparison with other electric vehicles out there; it costs too much and the range isn't very good, even if you go for the optional two-cylinder range-extending engine. It appears BMW has decided to address the latter issue, because from this summer the i3 will now come with a 33kWh battery in place of the current 22kWh unit.
[...] The new battery is 50 percent bigger, so more than 100 miles (160km) should be possible on a full charge. The gas tank for the range extender engine will also grow by 25 percent; expect to stop for gas every 75 miles if you try road-tripping. These range tweaks should help boost the i3's appeal, but before long the Bolt and Model 3 are going to make people expect 200+ miles from their EV as a bare minimum.
Happily for existing (and even potential) i3 owners, BMW says that current i3s can have the new battery retrofitted as part of a special program, although no one is saying anything about how much that might cost yet. Again, this kind of thinking is a promising sign for an industry that's never really considered upgrades as important. Tesla has excelled at pushing out new functionality to owners across the world on a regular basis, with both software upgrades and hardware retrofits, offering a better battery pack for Roadster owners in the past and underbody "armor" for the Model S fleet.
Tesla has shaken up the car industry with its award-winning electric vehicles (EVs) and supercharger network. Nearly every major brand now offers EVs or is seriously planning to offer them. A couple like Nissan and BMW have begun to build out their own charging networks. But this article highlights another way in which Tesla has re-invented the car: it gets better after you've bought it, through over-the-air software updates and battery retrofits that dramatically improve your EV's range. Will this upgradeability prove to be the "killer app" of the EV?
(Score: 3, Informative) by jlv on Tuesday May 03 2016, @03:00PM
On the contrary, *not* providing the ability to upgrade is a disincentive. The 2016 Nissan LEAF SV/SL have a 30 kWh battery capacity -- but Nissan isn't selling that as a replacement for older models, who still can only get the 24 kWh pack (which is still used in the 2016 LEAF S). Quite a few 2011/2012 LEAFs have gotten new batteries under warranty (the batteries those years had significant capacity declines in hot climates, partially because of the passive thermal management). By not making the larger pack available, Nissan is losing out on customer loyalty. Both packs are physically the same size, so they are only doing this to "sell new cars". That's ok; after all, they are a car company and they exist to build and sell new cars. But my loyalty goes to the manufacturer who not only sells me the new car, but keeps me using it.
Background: I have a 2013 LEAF SL for 2 years and 20000 miles so far. At this point the battery capacity in my car has declined about 6% (which is the expected amount for my climate).
Nissan should be ahead given their early commitment to EVs, but instead they are falling behind and losing the support of early adopters. In fact, their initial push into the market has turned into a complete lack of commitment. They are not upfront about where they are going. They've not talked about the mythical "LEAF II" with an extended range. Existing owners are frustrated about future prospects. The Tesla Model S is already outselling them by 3-to-1 (April 2016) [insideevs.com]. Frankly, the Chevy Bolt is going take over all of the LEAF market share when it comes out. It doesn't help that the LEAF is fugly.
A couple like Nissan and BMW have begun to build out their own charging networks
I'm not sure about what BMW is doing, but Nissan's deployment of level 3 CHAdeMO stations is a disaster!
(Score: 2, Informative) by jlv on Tuesday May 03 2016, @04:37PM
Nissan's deployment of level 3 CHAdeMO stations is a disaster. They gave these stations out to dealers, but the dealers have no incentive to either keep them running or even keep them free. Here in Massachusetts, *most* are still free. Many even work most of the time. The physical units have a filter that needs to be cleaned once every few months, but the dealers aren't doing so. The filter gets clogged up and in the summer heat, the units overheat and shut off. Last summer 3 of the 6 CHAdeMOs near me were out of commission; some for as long as 4 months.
Then there are the dealers who now charge to use their CHAdeMO: $10 for a level 3 charge works out to the equivalent of $5/gal of gasoline for a car that gets 30MPG (or $3.33/gal for a car that does 20MPG). Only 1 dealer around here charges, but I don't know how long that will last.
Really, the killer app for EVs is the SuperCharger network. Have a Tesla? You can go anyway because you can quickly get a charge if you need... and you can depend upon the charging station actually working. Need a charge? They've built out a huge infrastructure of stations -- something that dwarfs the meager network Nissan has built out.
Compare this: http://a6b6a4d850da023e34c0-ffd458871468d7801be60d93d5d79b26.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/40344.jpg [rackcdn.com] (the white LEAF is a dealer car parked in the CHAdeMO spot, blocking access to it; the blue LEAF has to park in the access road in order to stretch the cord to the car; and this particular CHAdeMO is broken as of 3/2016)
To this: http://a6b6a4d850da023e34c0-ffd458871468d7801be60d93d5d79b26.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/82343.jpg [rackcdn.com] (where there is 1 supercharger, you are sure to find 5 more)
I'm not sure what BMW is doing, but I doubt it's much better than Nissan (given that at best i3 sales are 1/6 LEAF sales).
I bet the Bolt will capture some initial market share, since it will be a 200+ mile range and people will get the $7500 federal tax credit for buying it. But the Model 3 will be a truly ubiquitous EV car able to go anywhere an ICE car can go today.