BMW will be offering a two-cylinder motorcycle engine and a generator as an option to extend the range of its i3 electric car.
The BMW i3 has a range of 97 to 145 kilometers (60 to 90 miles). The two-cylinder engine comes from a BMW motorcycle and will extend the driving range to 400 kilometers (250 miles) on a tank of gasoline.
The engine is housed in the trunk and connected to a generator that recharges the battery. The engine doesn’t transmit mechanical power directly to the wheels.
“I imagine many buyers will order the range extender to cure their range anxiety, discovering later they need it very seldom,” BMW R&D cheif Herbert Diess told Automotive News.
He expects the order rate for the option could exceed 50 percent with early buyers, then stabilize at about 20 percent.
He said an electric car fits the needs of urban daily commuters, who could use the gasoline engine for longer trips on the weekend. He added: “For those who plan a daily use of the range extender, probably the i3 is not the right choice, with a plug-in hybrid model being a better suitable solution.”
BMW hasn’t yet revealed pricing for the i3 or range-extended i3, but both will appear on sale together at the end of 2013.
