The plug-in version of the Chinese-built long-wheelbase BMW 5 Series using the ‘mild’ hybrid drivetrain BMW showed last year in the ActiveHybrid 5 concept
Editor’s Blog on new plug-in technology from BMW
PLUG-IN hybrids are expected to be the key step between the current petrol and diesel-engined cars of today, and the electric fuel cell cars of tomorrow.
That’s because plug-in hybrids provide an excellent halfway house, offering electric battery power for driving in the city; and a standard engine for the motorway. The battery can be charged up from the mains – hence the term ‘plug-in’.
Proof that plug-in hybrids may be round the corner for business car managers was provided by BMW, when it confirmed at the Shanghai Motor Show that it will start production of a plug-in hybrid version of its BMW 5 Series in China from 2013.
The plug-in is based on the long wheelbase version of the 5 Series which BMW’s China company, BMW Brilliance Automotive, began building in Shenyang last year.
The car, called ‘New Energy Vehicle’, is based on the ‘mild’ hybrid drivetrain BMW showed last year in the BMW ActiveHybrid 5 concept. That car is equipped with a twin-turbo six-cylinder engine, eight-speed transmission and 40kW electric motor.
The BMW 5 Series hybrid plug-in will have an all-electric/emissions-free range of 75 km (47 miles) when moving at a constant speed of 60 km/h (37 mph). Maximum range, including the petrol engine, will be 400 km (250 miles).
When will we see something similar here in the UK?
Well, BMW recently launched BMW i, its green sub-brand, with the promise that we’ll see an all-electric city car by 2013 (the i3). BMW is likely to be cautious about introducing a plug-in hybrid to the UK – but if it’s happening in China, the world’s largest car market, then it will happen over here in the UK sooner or later.
Photo: Headlineauto.
