BMW’s i3 Concept Car: A Major Step Toward Sustainable Vehicles

The talk of electric cars that seems to be proliferating in the media represents a nice advancement toward sustainable transportation, but they have a long way to go given the use of non-renewable materials. Electric vehicles recently occupied all three spots under the New York Times “Automobiles” section on their website, a sign that times are indeed changing. One of the stories on the website looked at the progress of Better Place as they attempt to build out battery swapping stations in Denmark. Another related piece discussed the lengths to which some European countries have gone to subsidize electric vehicles. The third of the group considered the ability of BMW’s plug-in models (the i8 and the i3) to capture the aesthetic and performance for which the German car maker is renowned. The New York Times article states that the two models will be ready in two years.

The i3, and its pricier counterpart the i8, have been designed from the ground up to be electric vehicles. BMW also offers other electric version of current cars, like the all-new ActiveE, which is set to debut this fall. BMW’s i3 sets a new standard in the move toward sustainable cars. Being marketed currently for urban mobility, the i3 is a compact car. According to the website, “Innovative use of materials and intelligent lightweight design, moreover, not only enable the i3 Concept to travel long distances on a single charge, they also provide superb safety in the event of a collision and help give the car its excellent driving dynamics.” In addition, renewable materials were used in the interior, furthering the sense of sustainable transport. To this end, the New York Times article mentions that olive oil was used to tan the leather.

For nearly 40 years, BMW has experimented with electric propulsion and for the last 20 has implemented regenerative braking. In the i3,

The accelerator serves both as brake and throttle —when the foot is taken off the pedal, it actively decelerates. This decelerative torque is used to reclaim energy in a process known as regenerative braking, or regen. The electric motor becomes a generator — producing energy and charging the battery. This intensive use of energy regeneration increases the range of the  BMW i3 by up to 20 percent.

One more benefit of electrification is the smaller size of the electric motor as compared to an internal combustion one. The “smaller dimensions and much lower mass require up to 50% less installation space compared to a combustion engine with transmission.” All of this helps make the i3 more efficient.

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