Global Crisis

During the i3's development, BMW often used a large city as a backdrop for the concept i3 photo shoots.

Megacity: A metropolitan area with a total population in excess of ten million people.

BMW has all along told us that the i3 was designed for urban transport, a glimpse at the future of personal mobility in the megacities of the world. Heck, the code name for it was even "The Megacity Car."  However now that the i3 has been available for over a year, BMW is realizing that the Megacity car is selling better outside the city limits.

I've never really accepted that the i3 would do well in the megacity markets, at least in the US, and I've voiced that opinion on many occasions. Having lived with electric cars for the past six years, I've had the experience of driving and charging in the both suburbs and in the city, so I'm intimately aware of the challenges of public charging. I live about 50 miles from New York City and go there frequently. Driving my electric cars to and around the city isn't a problem, however charging it there is. There just aren't enough places to charge your car there to make living with an EV in New York City palatable. There are public parking garages and a few lots that have EVSEs, but finding one that works is one problem. Then, if you're lucky enough to find a lot that has one which is working, you often have to fight with the attendant to make sure they plug you in once you've left your car there.

My car was unplugged after only about 45 minutes of charging. It was sitting right where I left it so they didn't need to move it, someone there just decided to unplug me. With only 28% state of charge, I needed the range extender to get me home. This is a typical EV charging experience in NYC

The last three times I've gone to the City I had nothing but problems getting my car charged. In fact, two of those times I had to drive home using my range extender because the car wasn't charged. Just last week I went to the New York Auto Show and parked at the 9th Avenue Edison Park Fast lot because it had a ChargePoint charging station. When I pulled in I told the attendant I needed to charge for a minimum of three hours and he seemed to understand what I was saying. He said "Oh this is electric? No problem I'll plug you in." I even gave the guy a $5 tip up front with the hopes that he'd take care of me. As I was walking to the Javits Center a few minutes later I checked my BMW i Remote app and saw my car was charging so I figured I was good. I left the car with only 10% state of charge and wanted to be at at least 90% for the trip home, and that would take about three hours of charging. No problem because I planned to be at the show for about six hours. As I was walking back to my car later that day I checked my app just to make sure I was charged and to my surprise I saw I was only at 28% SOC and the car wasn't charging. When I arrived I asked why my car wasn't charged and the attendant only said, "We charged it."  I figured maybe they had to move it for some reason, or maybe another EV came that needed to charge but no, someone just decided to unplug it after about 45 minutes of charging. The car was still parked in front of the EVSE, it wasn't blocking anyone so it hadn't been moved, it was just unplugged hours ago for no apparent reason.

This time in New York I was able to charge up at an underground parking garage, but only after 45 minuted on the phone with ChargePoint trying to get this unprovisioned station operational.

This has happened before to me in New York City, so I wasn't really surprised. I've even had the attendant promise to plug me in and never do it. I now either wait to watch them plug it in or check my app as I'm walking away to make sure someone plugs it in. Luckily I had the REx to bail me out or I'd have been in a real jam, as I needed to be somewhere else in about an hour.

Electric range insufficient. Not what you want to see when you return to your car after leaving it in a public parking lot to charge. Luckily I had the range extender to fall back on.

I could go on and on about previous difficulties I've had trying to charge in the city, but I think I'll dedicate an entire post to that sometime soon. The point here is charging an EV in the city is difficult at best. Yes, if you live there it is possible to make arrangements with the garage where you keep your car, and install an EVSE for your personal use, but many of the garages don't have the additional electrical capacity for a dedicated 40 amp circuit even if you're willing to pay for the installation and the electric, so the owners are stuck plugging into a simple 120v outlet and slow charging all of the time. Beam Charging network in New York has stations in various parking garages and offers a $98 per month unlimited charging plan, but you still have to find accessible stations and pay the regular parking fee which can be very expensive. It's definitely doable, but not very convenient or inexpensive.

So it was no surprise when I read an article this week by Diana Kurylko of the Automotive News quoting BMW NA CEO Ludwig Willisch saying i3 sales have been weaker than expected in large cities like New York: "The strongholds in this country are parts of California, Texas and southern Florida, rather than large cities, he said" The article further says: "The big urban centers in the Northeast, especially New York City, haven't embraced the i3, Willisch said. Unlike Californians, he said, New Yorkers apparently don't have sustainability and the environment "at the top of minds." I don't think it's a lack of a desire to be sustainable as much as it's difficulty charging the car there. California has a much more mature public charging infrastructure, and most people there live in private residences, unlike New York City. Overall, BMW is pleased with US i3 sales, and they are on pace to sell about 12,000 i3s per year here, they just seem to be a little surprised where the sales are coming from. I'm certainly not surprised, and I even wrote a post about a year ago that said the i3 was better suited for suburban and country life than life in the city, and I listed the reasons why I believe that to be true.

My i3 lives about 50 miles west of New York City... and fits in perfectly

Living in the suburbs or the country means you are usually in control of your energy supply, because most people live in single family homes there. There can be issues if you live in an apartment or condo complex, but you also have the choice to move to another location close by if charging is prohibited in the complex you live in. Living in a private residence allows you to install the home charging equipment you need, so you're not relying on public charging infrastructure as much.

Accessibility to charging is paramount for daily EV life, and in New York the public charging infrastructure has a very long way to go before it becomes convenient enough for many more people to consider an EV if they live there. Life in the big city is tough enough, and fighting on a daily basis for somewhere to charge your car is probably something most New Yorkers aren't willing to deal with. However there is hope that things will get better. Last year New York City passed the "Charger Ready Bill" which requires all new construction in New York City to dedicate 20% of the new parking spaces for EV charging spaces. I actually was asked by Mayor Bloomberg's office to testify in front of the committees on buildings and transportation in favor of the bill, which I did. This law will dramatically increase the amount of public charging locations in New York City, but it will take years before the results are really seen.

So are megacities like New York ready for electric cars? Not really. Not yet, I'm afraid. 

If you listen to BMW marketing, they'll have you convinced that the only place to really experience the full benefits of the i3 is to drive it in a city environment. Pretty much every description they offer for the i3 includes how it's a car made for the Megacities of the world. Take this from the BMW i website for instance: "Electric and electrifying – the BMW i3 redefines mobililty(sic): with its visionary design and innovative BMW eDrive transmission it’s the sustainably designed vehicle for everyday urban use."

I'm definitely not saying the i3 isn't perfectly capable of negotiating the urban jungle on a daily basis. In fact, city driving is where the i3 is most efficient. Driving streetlight to streetlight, using the regenerative braking to recapture much of the energy used, since you rarely drive for long without needing to slow down, is the type of driving that will allow for better overall range.  Aside from this efficiency advantage and the fact that you usually don't need drive so far (making the limited range less of a concern) and perhaps the ease of parking the i3's tiny frame on city streets, there isn't any other advantage to driving it in the city. I've now been driving electric for over five years and have piled up about 150,000 electric miles on my MINI-E, ActiveE and i3. The crazy thing is, I live in a very rural part of New Jersey where cows and horses are part of everyday life and the bright lights of New York City are over 50 miles away. Like my previous EVs, my i3 has adjusted well to life in the country, even if this isn't the life BMW had envisioned for its carbon fiber halo car.

My MINI-E was a city country car too!

However I'm not satisfied just saying it can do fine in the country and suburbs. I believe it is indeed better suited for a life outside the city limits, so please allow me to defend that statement.

For starters, the vast majority of people who live in the suburbs and in rural areas live in private residences and the exact opposite is true for those who live in cities. Living in a private residence gives you control over your electrical supply and parking arrangements, which as you know is pretty important if you drive an electric car. You simply hang a 240v EVSE in your garage or carport and your refueling issues are mostly solved. The vast majority of electric vehicle charging occurs at home, and having the ability to install a home based EVSE where you live really simplifies things. Conversely if you live in an apartment or condo in the city, establishing a location to park and charge your car can be an enormous challenge. I have had dozens of people who live in New York City reach out to me through this blog asking for help in securing a charging location because they wanted to buy an EV. It's not impossible, but it requires a lot of work and in many cases a lot of money and persistence. Some parking garages have allowed customers to install a private EVSE and separate meter so they can pay for the electric it uses. This usually costs a couple thousand dollars and requires a lot of legwork. Other garages have allowed the person to plug into an existing 120v outlet and pay a small monthly fee for the energy which is the best solution if 120v charging will offer enough energy for the persons driving needs. In any case, it's a lot harder to recharge your car if you live in the city.

Then there is the driving experience. Of course the car drives the same in any environment, however I contend you simply cannot possibly enjoy the full benefits of an electric car while driving it in the city. I can still remember a few years ago when I was driving my MINI-E home from work one night. I own a restaurant so some nights I drive home late at night after closing and the roads by my house are desolate. This particular summer night I had the windows open and the radio was not turned up too loud. I remember hearing a squeaking sound and thinking there was a problem with the radio so I lowered it a bit but when I did the noise got louder. It was then that I realized the noise was crickets. The car was so quiet, I could hear crickets as I drove along at night as clearly as if they were sitting inside the car with me. I promptly turned the radio completely off and finished my drive home to the chorus of crickets. Five years later I still roll down the windows and turn off the radio on some summer nights, and allow the crickets to serenade me on my way home. It's about as peaceful and relaxing as anything I can imagine, and I arrive home calm, relaxed and ready for bed. Open the windows of your car in New York City at any time, day or night and you'll hear horns beeping, people yelling, sirens blaring and car engines racing. You simply cannot appreciate the quietness of an electric car in the city as much as you can in the country because there are so many other loud noises occurring constantly around you that are overwhelming your peaceful retreat to silence. In the country, crickets are about as loud as it gets.

Finally there's the energy savings. City dwellers don't drive much because everything is close so they won't realize the fuel savings as much as those who need to drive farther. I said above that I have driven 150,000 miles in the past five years with my EVs. If I had done that with a car that averaged 30 miles per gallon (which is much more efficient than the average car), I would have spent around $18,500 for gasoline. Instead my electric cars used only about $8,000 in electricity so I've pocketed about $10,500 in fuel savings. A typical person who lives in the city would have driven much less than I have and their energy savings would also be much less accordingly. In fact, most people I know who live in the city don't even own a car, as it is too expensive and just not necessary because of the extensive public transportation system.

So all that's left to discuss is the range. I suppose the main reason BMW and other manufacturers have pointed to EVs as being better suited for urban environments is because they have limited range and require longer refueling time than their internal combustion counterparts. This is a valid point and one that will prevent many people who live in rural areas where destinations tend to be farther apart from considering an EV. I'm certainly not saying that everybody today is ready to go electric or that the current electric offerings would suit the needs of everybody, but I do believe the vast majority of people could definitely integrate one into their life if they want to. The "if they wanted to" is the operative term here because going electric does require some degree of planning and range awareness. You can't just hop in the car and drive without knowing roughly how far you'll be going and the location of possible charge points just in case you need them. That is, unless you have an EV with an extraordinary range (ala Model S) or one with a range extender like my i3 REx has. By setting up charging stations in various locations along the routes that I frequently drive, I've effectively built out my own private network, but I understand the average person will not be willing or able to do that. Having the range extender there "just in case" has completely removed any concern about whether or not I can make any destination and offers that secondary level of support that many considering an electric vehicle are seeking. My previous electric cars were definitely fine for me and my life in the country. The range extender on the i3 only makes it that much better and will allow others in rural areas who may not have been as "adventurous" as I was to go electric. With long range pure EVs like the Tesla Model S and smaller battery, range-extended options like the i3 REx, the electric "Country Car" has definitely arrived.

The display featured on the concept i3. The production version is thought to be very similar to this.

The 2013 BMW i3 will be a revolutionary vehicle. It will be be the first mass produced car that has an aluminum frame and a body made just about entirely out of carbon fiber reinforced plastic. It will use a modern version of body-on-frame design with the aluminum drive module made completely separate from the passenger cell with the latter bolted and glued to the frame near the end of the production line. It will be the first all electric car that the BMW group offers for sale and it will be one of the most efficient vehicles ever offered for sale by any major automobile manufacturer.

It will also, have one of the most advanced and connected electronics and display systems. There hasn't been much written about the i3's electronics, but from the photo's that have been leaked so far, it is obvious BMW is working hard to make the driving experience custom tailored to then needs of an electric car driver. Built in navigation system that will list all charging station within your driving range and destination routing that even includes the part of your trip after you leave the car to use public transportation.

One thing that is interesting is there seems to be two numbers offered as the driving range based on your current state of charge, one that is based on normal driving and one based on the use of the Eco Pro mode which will reduce power to the motor and other energy using devices like cabin heating and cooling system. By doing so the car will use less energy and the range will be extended. The Eco Pro mode will undoubtedly give the car a less spirited driving experience, but when your cutting it close with your available range, believe me you will gladly trade off a bit of acceleration to make your destination. By displaying both estimated ranges, it will help the driver to decide which driving mode is best for that given destination.

Besides in car electronics, the i3 owner will have the ability to perform many functions in the car by the use of a smartphone. You'll be able to precondition the battery and cabin to the desired temperature. You'll be able to plug in a destination and the application will tell you if the car can make it there based on it's current state of charge or suggest charging stations to stop at along the route. It will also alert you once a pre-selected state of charge is attained. This can be very useful. Let's say you plugged in and then went off to run some errands while the car reached a certain state of charge necessary for you to make it home, the car will then send you a text message when that percentage is met, alerting you that it's safe to return to the car and begin your journey.














It going to be really interesting to see just what BMW is working on here, but judging from what is currently leaked, I'm thinking it will be pretty useful (and cool!).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk6_kCQtdNE&feature=youtu.be

So here it is. It's been over two years since we first started hearing about the mysterious BMW "Megacity Vehicle" since dubbed the 2013 BMW i3 and we're finally getting an official look at what BMW has been cooking up.

This is a concept, so the production version will be a bit different, but overall the shape will be pretty much what we see here. They will of course lose the glass side panels and roof, both to be replaced with carbon fiber panels as is the entire outer shell. If you compare it to the renderings in the post below this, you see it is kind of a hybrid of a few of them. There haven't been much details released yet, but some of them of note that I did read are the car will have tall 19" wheels, which are very large diameter for a car of this size. The stated purpose for these are that they lower the rolling resistance and improve efficiency. It will also go 0-60 in under 8 seconds. It will charge on a regular household 110v outlet in six hours. That basically means the battery pack is small as previously reported, probably 16 to 18 kWh. It will also have a range extender option that BMW calls i-REx. The range extender will be a small gasoline(not diesel) engine that will only charge the battery pack, it will not have the ability to drive the wheels directly like the Chevy Volt can under certain circumstances.

 I'm sure there will be lot's of info coming out in the next few days, I'll try to get it all up here as soon as it's available.