BMW will unveil a facelift of the i3 electric car which will focus on design and technology updates in the second half of this year. According to a source, BMW will expand the i3 line-up by adding two more additional versions. Currently, the i3 is being offered as a fully electrical vehicle and as an internal combustion engine-supported hybrid machine.
Reportedly, the aforementioned versions will be joined by two new versions with the same pure electric and hybrid powerplants using much high capacity batteries. So the company will still offer the current i3 with 60-Ah batteries while consumers will be able to opt for a 94-Ah battery pack also. The facelift is rumoured to get a range extension of about 193 km from the current 129 km range, with new software and better electronics for the EV.
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Currently, the i3 is packed with a 8 x 2.7 kWh packs of cells, each containing 12 x 3.75 volt i.e. 60 Ah actual cells wired in series for a nominal capacity of 21.8 kWh, making it 360 volts of which 18.8 kWh is usable. The new battery is most likely to have a 94Ah battery and the higher energy density that will extend the range of the EV.