BMW has announced that its plant in Munich has rolled out the very first fully electric BMW i4. The single assembly line at the facility is capable of assembling all drive variants — ICE, hybrid, and electric-powered models simultaneously. BMW looks to have half of the cars built from the facility to be electrified by 2023. A majority of which would be pure EVs.
BMW’s Munich facility is nearly a century old. The plant was converted recently to accommodate the new structure to assemble all forms of drive trains on a single assembly line. The same line responsible for the i4 also builds the BMW 3 Series Sedan and Touring, the BMW M3, and the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. However, the Bavarian automaker looks to move its four-cylinder model production from Germany to Hams Hall, UK, and Steyr, Austria plants.
In 2022, BMW India is looking to launch two electric vehicles. The i4 may be one of the two models to be offered in the market. The BMW i4 packs an 80.7kWh battery. The electric motor placed on the rear axle is capable of producing 335hp and 430Nm of torque. On the WLTP cycle, BMW claims the new all-electric i4 can offer a range of up to 590 km on a single charge. The i4 would also offer commendable performance, capable of accelerating from 0-100km/h in 5.7 seconds and to a top speed of 190km/h.
The i4 also has a passive-aggressive sibling from the M-division as the BMW i4 M50. BMW already makes the i3, a compact battery-electric city car. It is also available with a small petrol engine that it uses as a range extender. The automaker also offers an electric version of the X3 SUV simply badged as the BMW iX3. Recently, BMW introduced a larger all-electric SUV called the BMW iX that is currently its flagship electric vehicle.
