BMW: The electric future of megacities

How does a car manufacturer go green? As far as its duty is concerned, the first thing that bears the brunt is not to donate money to green public welfare, but to make the energy consumption of its own products clean and efficient.

At the just-concluded Beijing International Auto Show, the hottest topic was no longer a plug-in "hybrid", but an electric vehicle with a complete lithium-ion battery back, and some media even named it 2010 For the "electric first year." When will the electric car, which is designed to subvert the traditional engine and transmission system of the car, be mass-produced on the road? The answer given by BMW is 2013. This car is the "Megacity Vehicle" that appeared as a sub-brand of BMW. It is BMW's solution for big city traffic, and it will be the first mass-produced pure electric vehicle of the BMW Group.

On April 22, Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of BMW Group, said in his speech at the "Electric Future - BMW Night" in Beijing: "The BMW Group is a global leader in electric vehicles. Everyone Maybe you don’t know much, BMW has a long tradition in the field of electric vehicle research and development.” BMW has a clear plan for the mass production of electric vehicles, and cooperation with the government, universities and suppliers has already begun.

It is undeniable that the current development path of electric vehicles in China is not smooth, the standards are lacking, the basic facilities are not complete, and the market positioning needs to be explored. Fortunately, compared with China, the development gap with Europe and the United States is not large, and under the promotion of various government policies, the outlook for automakers is optimistic.

An electric future to look forward to

BMW produced its first electric car in 1972 as an escort car for the marathon event at the Munich Olympics for nearly 40 years. About 20 years later, BMW took a further step in the field of electric vehicles: BMW presented the BMW E1 electric car at the 1991 Frankfurt Motor Show. In the 1980s and 1990s, BMW developed electric experimental cars based on the BMW 3 Series.

Because of various technical constraints, BMW only started a new round of electric vehicle development in 2006, mainly due to the rapid development of lithium-ion battery technology, making it possible to use it as a vehicle energy source.

As one of the first automakers in the world to realize the trend of electric vehicles, BMW established Project i (Project i) in 2007, which even has the privilege of going beyond the normal R&D and procurement process within BMW, As an organization, Project i is accumulating electric vehicle knowledge and experience within BMW.

The "mega city car" is a tangible outcome of project i. From the outset, BMW set the following goals: The "megacity car" should not only be zero-emissions, but also be as environmentally friendly and energy-efficient as possible over its entire life cycle. BMW is also setting new benchmarks when it comes to lightweight structural construction - making extensive use of new materials such as carbon fiber. This is unprecedented in a production model.

In China, BMW began the exploration of electric vehicles in the second half of 2008, led by the person in charge of project i and two senior vice presidents of product and brand strategy, came to China to cooperate with the government, suppliers and industry R&D institutions Cooperation. China is becoming increasingly important in BMW's strategy.

In September 2009, BMW set up a special department for electric vehicle development in China. Its main function is to coordinate and promote the relevant internal departments and communicate with external partners. In the early stage of the exploration of electric vehicle industrialization, such an institutional setup will greatly ensure the efficiency of enterprises in knowledge accumulation and collaborative communication. Tian Sheng has been fortunate to have been involved in the electric vehicle related business since 2008, and has served as the senior manager of electric vehicle development since 2009, responsible for the promotion of BMW's electric vehicle roadmap in China.

MINI E Pathfinder

In the early days, the development of electric vehicles should be a very open field, involving many factors such as policies, infrastructure, and users that need to be coordinated by many parties. Therefore, Tian Sheng told reporters that it is very important to have an open mind when it comes to electric vehicles. Any company that wants to succeed in electric vehicles needs two very important abilities: one is the ability to learn, because it is too new, from technology to market, from technology to market. From the user to the supply chain, the change is very fast; the second is the cooperation ability, which is even more important.

On April 22, BMW released the MINI E project. The project will introduce 50 MINI E vehicles for real-road testing in China before the end of this year. The partners are China Automotive Technology Research Center and State Grid. The test results of this project, such as how users charge and use electric vehicles, will be shared by BMW with relevant stakeholders, governments, power grids and related agencies.

MINI E is BMW's first car under project i. It is an electric car that consumers can use under actual road conditions. At present, there are more than 600 cars in the United States, Britain, Germany and other places ahead of China Test on the road. Through this project BMW has gained a lot of consumer experience: how they use it, what are the concerns, the differences before and after use, etc. From a technical point of view, this car was developed in 2007. From today's point of view, the related electric drive system technology has made great progress. Therefore, BMW's introduction of this car is not to promote how advanced the technology of this car is, but to make the electric car actually go on the road to explore whether the technology and mode are feasible.

The project in Berlin, Germany has a total of 50 vehicles, of which 40 are for private users and 10 are for institutional and other users. The users who participated in the test all kept at least one charging place. In addition to the home and office, BMW cooperated with the Vattenfall Power Group to provide 33 public charging infrastructures. Users can choose to charge at their own home, or they can choose to charge at a public charging point. This is very similar to the upcoming MINI E test mode in China.

In the test in the three major markets of the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom, BMW will ask testers: Are you satisfied with the interior space, cruising range, charging time and performance of the MINI E? After more than 12 months of testing, the MINI E project has already produced preliminary results.

First, there is little difference between a user using an electric vehicle and a vehicle of the same size. BMW installed a data collector on the car, and the data of the two are basically consistent with the curve. The MINI E can run 150 to 180 kilometers on a single charge under actual road conditions. For such a mileage, the needs of more than 85% of car users can basically be met. Only when going out for a long distance on weekends, or when you need to pack a lot of things in the trunk, the MINI E is limited by the battery, because the MINI E has only two seats and the trunk is small.

Second, users do not need to charge every day, about 2-3 times a week, so charging is not the biggest burden for users. The vast majority of users charge at home or office, where they stay for a long time and do not add extra charging time, but it does not mean that public charging stations are not needed, which can increase users’ use of electric vehicles. car confidence and frequency. Therefore, BMW believes that the investment in infrastructure should not only be invested in public charging stations, but also in the transformation of residential areas and office buildings.

"So this project has achieved very ideal results. In other words, it is completely feasible to replace a small car of similar size with a MINI E in a big city for daily commuting." Tian Sheng said. When asked what are the requirements for test users in China, Tian Sheng said that the first batch of people who are willing to test the car should be more open, willing to try new things, willing to share their experience and feelings with others, and will accept the test from BMW. Lots of visits.

BMW expects electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids to account for 5%-15% of the market by 2020, when the vast majority of vehicles will be conventional vehicles. Electric vehicles are unlikely to become mainstream in the near future, but they must be an important direction, so in BMW's strategy, electric vehicles do not need to be bigger and faster. After taking a solid step in the small car MINI E, BMW will continue to launch the ActiveE concept car next year. The ActiveE, which is born out of the BMW 1 Series, has 4 seats and a 200-liter trunk. From the functional and electric drive technology Compared with the MINI E, it has been a step further, and it will be another important milestone in the BMW Group's plan to lead the first mass-produced pure electric vehicle - "mega city car".

Megacity Vehicle, which will be launched in 2013, will be operated as a sub-brand of BMW. It will abandon the traditional car's idea of designing around the engine and traditional systems, and completely re-design the electric drive system around the battery. At the same time, it will use a large number of lightweight The carbon fiber material and other lightweight designs are a completely new product concept that is completely different from traditional cars.

Efficient power is a long-term strategy

In fact, all of BMW's electric vehicle development is based on the BMW Efficient Dynamics (efficient power) strategy.

What is efficient power? Karl-Heinz Schmid, President of BMW (China) Automobile Trading Co., Ltd., gave a detailed explanation for the reporter.

In 2002, the BMW Group put forward a high-efficiency power strategy based on historical experience and its own technical reserves and facing the future development trend of the automotive industry. It aims to ensure the unique driving pleasure of BMW, while continuously reducing the fuel consumption and emissions of vehicles, and realizing the sustainable development of human mobility. The hydrogen-powered BMW 7 Series sedan and the X6 ActiveHybrid are the outstanding products under the leadership of this strategy.

BMW's Efficient Power Strategy is divided into three phases.

Phase 1: From 2002 to 2009, the focus of productization is the replacement of the traditional internal combustion engine and its surrounding accessories (such as water pump, gearbox, etc.); the research and development and application of lightweight materials; the further development of aerodynamics promote.

Phase 2: From 2009 to 2020, the focus is on the introduction of intelligent energy flow management technology (including hybrid technology and electric drive technology) while maintaining previous technological advantages.

Phase 3: After 2020, clean energy vehicles represented by hydrogen energy technology will be available. Emissions from hydrogen-fueled vehicles will then be almost nothing more than water.

The concept of efficient power comes naturally to the BMW Group. Back in the early days of the company, BMW was a business that made aero engines. The high-efficiency power concept formed by the power, economy and reliability of the engine has become BMW's corporate DNA to pursue the ultimate power technology.

At the Beijing Auto Show, BMW highlighted its high-efficiency power technology, among which BMW's high-precision direct injection system and braking energy recovery system were unveiled for the first time in China. The second generation of gasoline direct injection technology uses a piezoelectric injector, which is located in the cylinder head close to the spark plug, and can inject fuel into the combustion chamber at a pressure of 200bar. This layout ensures an extremely precise fuel dose. .

In addition, BMW also exhibited a hybrid concept car at the auto show, the BMW Concept X6 ActiveHybrid, which has significantly higher driving dynamics compared to conventional hybrid cars In comparison, fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 20%.

With braking energy recovery technology, the BMW X6 xDrive50i first charges the onboard computer network during the coasting and braking phases of the vehicle. The generator is disengaged during driving, thereby converting more drive power into driving power.

Imagine the future, BMW will be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people with a brand-new brand image, relying on the first-mover advantage of electric vehicles, to win the starting line of the new round of luxury cars.