BMW must improve electric range

BMW's product manager for the all-electric i3 commuter - in Australia as early as next year - says upgrading the battery is vital.

"The i3 has a range of 160km but that is under ideal conditions,'' says Heinrich Schwackhofer at the Geneva motor show. 

"Upgrading the batteries will happen within the i3's lifecycle (estimated at five years) but what type of batteries we use has not been decided. We have to stay ahead of the market.''

In the interim, BMW aims to offer the i3 with an optional petrol engine to charge the batteries. Mr Schwackhofer declined to say which engine would be used, only to say it was a "small petrol engine''. BMW is rumoured to be preparing one of its motorcycle engines for the task.

The addition of the range-extender engine will overcome the relatively short-range of the i3 and make it more suitable to commuters in outer suburban areas. Mr Schwackhofer has confirmed that the i3 concept will have an almost identical exterior to the production model that starts production in Germany in early 2013.

It will be on show at the London Olympics this year. But the interior will be changed, losing the open dashboard but retaining the flat floor that covers the car's removable platform. This platform will be used for a variety of body shapes, including a small SUV and a coupe-convertible.

BMW's i8 sports car, by contrast, will go into production in 2014 almost as it is as a concept. The i8 is a plug-in hybrid with a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder engine that is conncted to the drive wheels. "We have no plans to increase the power of this car,'' says Mr Schwackhofer. "It's light enough to offer plenty of performance.'

The i8 also has a removable platform. It has an electric-only range of 35km but BMW won't disclose what the range is with the  petrol engine. "There are a lot of gaps in our i-series but we're not developing anything else at the moment,'' he says. "The first step is to get the i3 and i8 to the market. Then we'll talk about derivatives.''