New electric powertrain technology will allow BMW Group to launch electric cars at a cheaper price but while offering more range and better efficiency than today’s cars, the firm has claimed.
The Munich firm has been working on an entirely new electric vehicle architecture, which will start to be rolled out with its forthcoming line of ‘Neue Klasse’ models. Now labelled ‘Gen6’, the platform will first be used for the next BMW iX3, which will be unveiled in September and was previewed with the Vision Neue Klasse SUV concept.
The 800-volt platform is claimed by BMW to be a “quantum leap forward” in terms of technology compared to today’s offerings.
“Neue Klasse is not just a new car, it is a new technology,” said BMW Group purchasing and supply board member Joachim Post. The scalable platform will eventually be used by all BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce EVs before the end of the decade.
It is centered around a new nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery that utilises cylindrical cells which are 20% denser and easier to package than modules (made up of square cells) found in today’s “Gen5” Lithium-Iron (LI) packs.
The headline figures are that these new batteries increase range by 30%, efficiency by 20%, charging speeds by 30% (with bi-direction capabilities), and reduce production costs by up to 50% when compared to today’s packs. BMW has yet to give a capacity for the batteries that will be fitted.
These costs – achieved through most of the development and building now being done in-house – will be passed onto buyers, said Post, instead of being swallowed as extra profit. “It is important to be competitive in the market from the price range in terms of reachability for the customers,” he said, adding that this will allow the firm to push for a price parity between ICE and EVs.
To give an idea of the technology’s advancement, that range boost applied to the recently refreshed BMW iX – which in xDrive 60 form offers the most miles per charge in the brand’s stable – would increase its maximum range by 129 miles to 555 miles, with the ability to also add 186 miles in as little as 10 minutes.
Key to the technological advancements is the new cylindrical cells. They are built in-house in two sizes, either 95mm or 120mm tall and 46mm wide. In both instances, they are easy to package because they do not require modules to fit them together like today, said BMW. As such, they can be attached directly to the pack (called cell-to-pack) which not only saves money as fewer parts are used, but reduces the weight and size of the batteries, allowing for slimmer batteries.