BMW, the German luxury car manufacturer, yesterday, launched the highly BMW i8 Plug-in hybrid sports car in the Indian car market. The flagship product was introduced in the presence of cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar. The Bavarian automaker has also showcased its pure electric car- the BMW i3 in the country. The i3 is the company's first pure electric series-produced model that carries the same sporting genes as every BMW, and offers sheer driving pleasure.
Interestingly, the German maker is evaluating the option of launching this premium compact electric vehicle in India. The decision will be made on the basis of the government's measures to support electric vehicles as part of its National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020.
The BMW i3 compact premium electric car achieves a range of 130 to 160 kilometres. This range is quite sufficient for the vast majority of drivers across the world. Going by different surveys, the average distance driven daily worldwide is no more than 64km. Moreover, the car also features range extenders. It features a two-cylinder gasoline engine with 34bhp (25kW), which is mounted adjacent to the electric motor above the rear axle. This range extender increases the car’s range to around 300km. The electric drive-train is capable of producing 170bhp of power and 250Nm of top torque. It sprints to 60kmph from zero in mere 3.7 seconds and takes 7.2 seconds to cross 0-100kmph mark. The top-speed of the car has been kept limited to 150kmph for high fuel efficiency.
