Detail Drip: BMW Reveals Range of Electric Sedan, Crossover

This certainly won’t be of interest to people living in Tim Cain’s neighborhood, or indeed your own, but it just might be for the legions of North Americans who tell survey peddlers that they’re totally considering an electric vehicle for their next purchase. Note: telling a surveyor you’re considering an EV purchase is as weighty as telling them you’re considering moving to Canada if the next election doesn’t go your way. It’s a vague assurance of nothing.

Anyway, all that to say that a great many automakers are planning an EV onslaught in the coming decade, and buyers may or not greet them at the dealer door. BMW’s role in this product wave involves an electric version of the X3 crossover, plus an i4 sedan and iNext largeish crossover. As with all EVs, the biggest point of competition will be range, and we now have an idea of what to expect from Bimmer’s green machines.

We’d have a better idea if this continent bordered the Mediterranean, North Sea, and Baltic. In a tease of its upcoming products, BMW claimed the i4 and iNext will return 600 kilometers of driving range on the new, more realistic WLTP cycle. EPA figures typically come in at a little less than the European cycle.

Oh, and 600 km equals 373 miles, for the metrically challenged among us.

Due out in 2021, the i4 is a four-door coupe targeted at the “premium midrange” segment, according to BMW. Acceleration will be swift, with the automaker promising a 0-62 mph dash in 4 seconds. Too many dashes like that, and you’ll see that gauge cluster range figure drop like a stone. Luckily, the capacious battery pack should leave a generous range cushion for most trips.

Currently, BMW’s new models are undergoing cold weather testing in northern Scandinavia; range loss is a concern in that kind of climate, too.

The iNext, or whatever name the actual production model carries, is expected to debut with Level 3 autonomous driving capability, which means true hands-off driving on certain roads. Larger than the iX3, which is due in 2020 with a significantly shorter range (assuming Bimmer figures out where to build it), the iNext’s price will likely reflect its status as the company’s tech flagship.

The arrival of the iX3, I4, and iNext herald a new era for BMW. Specifically, one in which its electric vehicles enter the mainstream. Until the iX3 shows up, green buyers can only choose from a smattering of hybrids, including the ultra-pricey plug-in i8, and the odd-looking i3 electric hatchback.

BMW plans to have 12 EVs on offer by 2025.

[Images: BMW Group]