The German automaker is now prepping up for its fifth-generation electric powertrain which will be rolled out under the iX3 model in 2020.
As Year 2018 comes to an end, BMW is expecting sales of electrified vehicles (comprising hybrid or all-electric) to hit 150,000. The brand reportedly sold more than 100,000 electrified vehicles in 2017.
By 2025, the German luxury carmaker is planning to have around 25 electrified vehicles in its range.
BMW has been an active participant of the electrified vehicle movement, introducing vehicles like the i3 and i8, as well as hybridising many of its existing vehicles.
The company is now prepping up for its fifth-generation electric powertrain which will be rolled out under the iX3 model in 2020.
BMW’s fifth-generation electric drive system
BMW’s vice president of electric vehicle development, Stefan Juraschek, told Practical Motoring that their upcoming modular electric drive system will make construction of a range of different vehicle types much easier.
According to him, a crucial advantage of this fifth-generation system is that the electric motor, transmission and power electronics will form a single, highly integrated electric drive component.
Unlike the three separate components used in preceding generations, this compact unit will take up far less space.
Its modular construction will make it scalable too, which means it can be modified to suit all sorts of different installation spaces and power requirements, he explained.
“In future, we will be able to swiftly decide which models we are going to equip with what mix of all-electric drive, plug-in hybrid drive or exceptionally efficient combustion engines. This will let us partially or fully electrify each model in accordance with market demand, creating the basis for the mass-market introduction of pure battery electric vehicles in the future,” he was quoted as saying.
BMW said that it is gradually trying to eradicate the use of rare earths in the production of electrified vehicles. The electric motor in our fifth-generation electric powertrain is completely free of rare earths, the company claims.
