The German luxury vehicle manufacturer BMW is aiming to have 25 electrified vehicles in its fleet by 2025. The all-electric iX SUV and i4 sedan are the firm’s latest strides in that direction.
For the first time, the German automaker has revealed a few more specifics about the i4, the world’s first fully-electric sedan by unveiling the first exterior shots of the new model.
The i4 will have a maximum power output of 390 kW/530 HP. It will take four seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h.
According to preliminary tests based on Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) test procedures, BMW has claimed a range of up to 300 miles, enough to travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. That’s the same range as the iX will be able to cover on a single charge, but with a small horsepower boost over BMW’s new SUV. Although this is less than Tesla and some other rivals, it is still more than comparable to the all-electric Porsche and Audi models such as the eTaycan and e-tron GT, which have ranged in the low 200s.
Mr. Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Customer, Brands, Sales remarked that “With its sporty looks, best-in-class driving dynamics and zero local emissions, the BMW i4 is a true BMW. It makes the heart of the BMW brand now beat fully electric.”
We don’t yet know how much the i4 will cost or what other features it will have. It will be available later this year, but more information will most likely be released in the summer.
At a press event, BMW’s head of development Mr. Frank Weber commented that “the iX is purpose-built, it’s spectacular, and it’s a brand new BMW X product. But what people are longing for is to see that we have a fully electric sports sedan. And the i4 has everything it takes to have a real sporty sedan from BMW that is fully electric.”
Indeed, unlike BMW’s first all-electric car, the i3, the i4 is a conventional four-door sedan (with actual passenger doors, unlike the i3), which buyers looking for a sporty but roomy electric car in the spirit of the current 4-series would likely appreciate.
BMW also released version 8 of its iDrive operating system earlier this week, which will feature a new dashboard layout and visual design, as well as two curved screens.
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