2017 BMW i3 Longer Autonomy Range Cause Sales To Go Up To 70%

Oct 24, 2016 05:20 AM EDT | Mariechris Felipe

BMW has recently introduced a new battery pack for the BMW i3 that gave the electric car greater autonomy allowing it to improve from 80 miles to 114 miles. Now statistics show that the new BMW i3 94ah was a success as i3's sales is up by 70 percent giving competitors of the brand a hard time.

Keeping Up With Competition

The previous i3 model is already going well in the United States, however, its biggest flaw is its range of only 81 miles. This is not competitive enough as competition in the market are getting longer autonomy and its main rival, the Nissan Leaf, recently upgraded and got a 100mile autonomy.

This is the reason why BMW decided to give a high-density battery to the new version of I3 that can increase its autonomy to up to 50 percent and now has a 114 miles range.

While charging time may take more, as the previous model needs 3.5 hours only while the new model needs 4.5 hours, statistics show that people in the United States love the new version better as sales are up by 70 percent, according to BMWBlog.

BMW i3 94ah w/range extender

In addition to the BMW i3 94ah, there's also the BMW i3 94ah w/range extender version. This version has a lower electric range but with the added attraction of a conventional motor acting as a generator providing electricity when electric power comes down. If the battery is depleted to about 6.5% and the driver requires additional range, the two-cylinder gasoline engine is switched on as a generator providing an additional range of 25 percent battery power.

The new BMW i3 94Ah comes with a starting price of $38,000 while the extender version will be about $43,000, according to InsideEVs. Interestingly BMW will also keep the previous version of the i3 on the market, the BMW i3 60 Ah This version has a starting price of $37,000 and is also available with range extender costing around $41,000.

There is not much difference between the 60 Ah battery and 94 Ah besides its increased autonomy. It still has a 170hp to the rear axle and that particular and futuristic exterior design and interior Americans had enjoyed.

Check out the BMW i3 94Ah in this video:

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