On June 2 nd, at 8: 00 this morning, BMW held an online launch event, officially released the production models of iX and i4, and announced the opening of reservations. These two cars will be delivered globally in November this year.
Among them, there are two models of BMW iX, the maximum endurance of WLTP can reach 630km, and the acceleration of 100 km is 4.6 seconds. Among them, the high-end version uses a large battery with a capacity of 111.5kWh (105.2kWh is available), which may be the largest battery capacity among mass-produced pure electric SUVs. At the same time, the iX wheelbase reaches 3000mm, and the internal space is very abundant.
▲ BMW iX
In terms of intelligence, BMW iX also has strong capabilities. First of all, BMW iX is equipped with L3 autopilot hardware, including 5 cameras for autopilot, 5 millimeter-wave radars and 12 ultrasonic radars. Compared with the previous models, iX’s autopilot computing power has increased by more than 20 times, and the perceived data has doubled. At the same time, iX’s front collision warning can continue to work during the turning process to ensure pedestrian safety.
▲ Comparison of two new BMW cars
The BMW i4 also has powerful performance, and the WLTP battery life can reach up to 590km. At the same time, BMW M High Performance Department also launched the first pure electric model-I4M50. This car is more powerful, with a maximum power of 544 horsepower and a torque of 795N?m, and the acceleration of 100 kilometers takes only 3.9 seconds.
▲ BMW i4
In terms of intelligence, BMW i4 has a smart cockpit with the same configuration as iX, including a 12.3-inch instrument, a 14.9-inch central control panel, and basically the same system and functions. It is also equipped with various cutting-edge technologies such as 5G mobile network and NFC digital car keys. At the same time, BMW i4 can also achieve L2 automatic driving.
In 2021, BBA’s three luxury brands are all working on pure electric products. At the beginning of the year, Audi released the pure electric coupe RS e-tron, whose performance is comparable to that of Porsche Taycan, and also released the Q4 e-tron, which is suitable for home use. Mercedes-Benz released two compact pure electric SUVs, EQA and EQB, and also released the flagship pure electric EQS, which was amazing. BMW is also making efforts. After the launch of the pure electric SUV model iX3 last year, the flagship pure electric iX and the pure electric coupe i4 are being launched.
In 2018, BMW showed the iNext concept car, and the radical design was amazing. After a lapse of three years, in November last year, BMW released the production version of iNext, which is iX.
▲ Comparison of pure electric SUVs of luxury brands
Just at 8: 00 this morning, Beijing time, BMW once again held an online launch event to announce the specific parameters of the iX production model, and announced the global delivery in November this year, including China.
In terms of appearance, the front face of BMW iX has a pair of huge kidney-shaped grilles, which makes this car highly recognizable. At the same time, the headlights are very flat, like a pair of narrowed eyes. This kind of design may become the mainstream design language of BMW family models in the future.
▲ BMW iX
The door handle is completely embedded in the body car, which conforms to the current popular style of electric vehicles and also reduces the wind resistance. The wind resistance coefficient of BMW iX is only 0.25. At the same time, the side window of the vehicle adopts a borderless design, which is full of movement. The taillights are on, and they are also a pair of squinting eyes, and they are more slender.
▲ BMW iX
The size of BMW iX is 4953/1967/1695mm and the wheelbase is 3 meters. With the length and width of BMW X5 and the height of X6, this styling layout makes iX sporty and luxurious.
In terms of power, it is equipped with BMW’s fifth-generation eDrive technology. This drive unit integrates the motor, inverter and gearbox in one shell. Its advantages are high power density, high efficiency and space saving.
▲ BMW iX motor
BMW iX has two power configurations, namely xDrive40 and xDrive50. Among them, xDrive40 is equipped with dual motors. The maximum power of the front motor is 200kW(272 HP), the continuous power is 50kW(68 HP), and the maximum torque is 352N?m. The maximum power of the rear motor is 250kW(340 HP), the continuous power is 80kW(109 HP) and the maximum torque is 400N?m. The maximum power of the whole power system is 240kW(326 HP) and the maximum torque is 630N?m. This power system can accelerate the BMW iX xDrive40 model to 6.1 seconds per 100 kilometers.
▲ BMW iX
XDrive50, a high-profile model, is also equipped with dual motors. The parameters of the front and rear motors are exactly the same as those of the low-profile model. The difference is that the maximum power of the whole power system is 385kW(523 HP), the maximum torque is 765N?m, and its 100-kilometer acceleration ability is improved to 4.6s.
The BMW iX xDrive40 is equipped with a 76.6kWh battery, with an actual usable capacity of 71kWh and a fast charging capacity of 150kW, which can be charged from 10% to 80% in 31 minutes. BMW officially announced that the WLTP life of this car is 372 ~ 425 km.
▲ BMW 111.5kWh battery pack
The battery and endurance of the BMW iX xDrive50 model are more powerful, equipped with a 111.5kWh battery, with an actual usable capacity of 105.2kWh and a fast charging capacity of 200kW, which can be charged from 10% to 80% within 35 minutes, which is basically the same as the low-profile model. The battery life of this car is also more powerful, and the WLTP battery life reaches 549 ~ 630 km.
Two models of BMW iX will be delivered globally in November this year, and reservations have been opened in some European markets.
At the same time, BMW also previewed a higher-performance iX M60 model, which will have more powerful performance and a maximum power of 440kW(600 HP). This car will be launched in 2022.
Among traditional car companies, BMW’s intelligence has always been at the forefront. In the BMW iX model, it is equipped with hardware supporting L3-level automatic driving, as well as various cutting-edge technologies such as BMW iDrive 8 system, 5G mobile network, high-precision map, NFC mobile phone car key and so on.
BMW iX is equipped with 5 cameras, 5 millimeter-wave radars and 12 ultrasonic radars, including a forward-looking camera, a forward-looking camera, two side-looking cameras and a rear-looking camera. The millimeter-wave radar includes four corner radars and a forward-looking main radar.
▲ BMW iX sensor configuration
According to BMW official, BMW iX is equipped with a new generation of sensors, a new generation of software stacks and a powerful computing platform, so it can realize L3-level automatic driving on hardware. Moreover, iX’s autopilot platform is 20 times higher in computing power than the previous model, and the data collected by the outside sensor is doubled. However, due to regulatory restrictions, iX can only experience L2 autopilot function at present.
On expressways and urban expressways, BMW iX can realize the function of adaptive cruise+lane keeping, and can realize the function of commanding lane change. In congested sections, vehicles can turn on TJP traffic congestion assistance function.
▲ BMW iX command lane change function
In terms of driving safety, BMW iX’s front collision warning can detect pedestrians when turning left and right, and warn drivers in advance to avoid collisions. Before the driver opens the door, the vehicle will also give a reminder if there is a car or rider behind.
▲ BMW iX detects pedestrians when turning.
There are more intelligent configurations in the BMW iX car.
The interior space of BMW iX adopts Shy Tech stealth technology design concept, with smaller air outlet, larger curved surface screen, and 50% fewer physical buttons than current BMW models. At the same time, BMW iX also adopts hexagonal steering wheel design.
▲ BMW iX interior
There are two display screens in the car, the instrument screen size is 12.3 inches, and the central entertainment screen is 14.9 inches. The pixels per inch of these two screens is above 200ppi. According to the viewing distance in the car, the driver can hardly distinguish the pixels on the screen.
▲ BMW iX central control screen
The eighth generation iDrive system of BMW is built in the car. This system is based on Linux. The UI design is more modern and the operation is more intuitive. At the same time, it is more convenient for the owner to interact with the car by adding a voice assistant that can talk in natural language. For China users, services provided by Tencent and Alibaba will also be added to the system.
In addition, BMW iX also has a brand-new intelligent personal assistant built in. The driver can give the intelligent personal assistant a name he likes and use it as a wake-up word. BMW’s intelligent personal assistant has the ability of natural dialogue and context understanding, and can learn the driving habits of users. Can make better suggestions when performing multiple tasks at the same time.
Through multiple microphones, BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant can also pick up the sound in different areas in the car to distinguish the objects of conversation, and can communicate and operate according to the situation considering the situation of the vehicle and its surrounding environment.
In addition to the built-in BMW’s eighth generation iDrive system, BMW iX can also use mobile phone mapping systems such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in the car.
In 2020, 5G technology has been widely popularized in the field of consumer electronics, and many self-owned brand models are also equipped with 5G modules.
Imported/joint venture car companies seem to be relatively conservative about 5G technology, but BMW is still at the forefront. The BMW iX model will be equipped with 5G communication module, which will bring more improvements to people’s travel experience in the fields of entertainment, information, autonomous driving and road safety in the future.
5G will also promote the further application of cloud technology. BMW has transferred a lot of computing power and functions to the BMW cloud, and processed a lot of data and complex tasks through the BMW cloud computing center.
The BMW i4 model released in advance includes two versions, i4 eDrive40 and i4 M50.
▲ Comparison of important parameters of typical luxury brand pure electric coupe
In terms of appearance, BMW i4 is a coupe with short front and rear suspension, thin side beams, frameless doors and streamlined roof.
The front of the car adopts narrow headlights and BMW’s classic "kidney" shape, which has become one of the appearance standards of BMW I series. The i4 M50 can also be equipped with optional M kit, which includes more flamboyant aerodynamic components, larger rims, etc. to make the vehicle look more combative.
▲ BMW i4
As for the power system, i4 adopts BMW’s latest fifth-generation eDrive electric drive system, which integrates the motor, inverter and gearbox, and has the advantages of simple layout and light weight, with an energy density of 2.14kW/kg.
▲ BMW i4 electric drive system
It is worth pointing out that the motor used in the electric drive system is an electrically excited synchronous motor, which has the advantage of maintaining constant torque output in a fairly wide speed range.
The efficient and compact electric drive system gives BMW the opportunity to give excellent power performance to the i4 model. Among them, i4 eDrive40 adopts the rear wheel drive mode, and the peak power of the electric drive system on the rear axle is 250kW (about 340 HP) and the peak torque is 430N?m. It takes only 5.7s to propel this vehicle with a curb weight of 2125kg to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h.
▲ BMW i4
The i4 M50 adopts four-wheel drive mode, and the front and rear electric drive systems work together. The peak power of the electric four-wheel drive system is 400kW (about 544 HP), and the peak torque reaches an astonishing 795N?m. With such abundant power, it takes only 3.9 seconds for this vehicle with a curb weight of 2290kg to complete the 0~100km/h acceleration.
In terms of batteries, BMW said that the high-voltage lithium battery used in i4 has a higher technical content than the battery of i3 model, so the energy density has increased by about 20%. At present, both i4 eDrive40 and i4 M50 models are equipped with a lithium battery with a capacity of 83.9kWh (usable capacity is 80.7kWh).
▲ BMW i4 battery pack
In order to keep the battery in its best working condition as much as possible, BMW designed an efficient temperature control system for i4. This system is integrated with the battery pack, which can be heated when it is cold and cooled when it is hot, so that the temperature of each position of the battery pack is as stable and consistent as possible.
With the help of the temperature control system, the battery of i4 can not only support the powerful power output of the electric drive system, but also give the i4 model considerable cruising range.
Under the working condition of WLTP, the energy consumption of i4 eDrive40 is 16~20kWh/100km, and its comprehensive cruising range is 590km;. The energy consumption of i4 M50 is 19~24kWh/100km, and its comprehensive cruising range is 510km.
▲ Charging BMW i4
On this basis, BMW also designed a "Combined Charging Unit" for the i4 model, which gave the i4 the ability to charge quickly.
For example, when using fast-filling piles, i4 supports charging power up to 200kW. Assuming that only 10% of the battery energy is available when the vehicle starts charging, people can get about 164km(i4 eDrive40) or 140km(i4 M50) cruising range in just 10 minutes at this power.
If people are not in such a hurry, it’s ok to wait for a while, because the charging speed of i4 in fast charging mode is very fast, and the charging time from 10% to 80% is only 31 minutes (the same is true for i4 eDrive40 and i4 M50).
In terms of intelligent cockpit, BMW i4 adopts a dual screen design with a 12.3-inch display and a 14.9-inch central control screen, which, like BMW iX, can provide quite a lot of information and a quite shocking sensory experience. Moreover, the double screen adopts the design of curved screen and inclines to the driver’s seat at a certain angle, which is the implementation of BMW’s consistent concept of "driver first".
▲ BMW i4 interior
On this basis, i4 is also equipped with a head-up display system to further enhance the visual experience of drivers and passengers. For example, during driving, the display screen will display information such as map, current position, route planning, etc., while the head-up display system will display tips such as vehicle speed, steering tips, lane change recommendations, etc., so that drivers can see intuitive and concise route guidance information without taking their eyes off the road.
On the center console, the i4 model did not keep too many physical buttons, but integrated the functions corresponding to the buttons into the touch screen. The car also adopts BMW’s eighth generation iDrive system, and its interface and functions are basically the same as BMW iX.
At the same time, i4′ s car system integrates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto mapping system, which has a high tolerance for smart devices such as mobile phones and tablets, and can truly realize end-to-end ecological integration. Users can also customize the car system of i4 through the My BMW App application. In the future, i4′ s car system will also support OTA upgrade. With the blessing of 5G communication technology, OTA upgrade will be very fast.
▲ BMW i4 seat
In terms of intelligent driving, the i4 model has SAE L2-class automatic driving capability, with up to about 40 driving assistance functions. Among them, the functions of forward collision warning, speed limit warning and lane departure warning are standard in the whole department, and the optional functions include adaptive cruise with automatic (adjustable) speed limit assistance, road monitoring, steering and lane keeping assistance, traffic light recognition (only available in Germany) and so on.
It is worth pointing out that the adaptive cruise function of i4 can not only adjust the vehicle speed according to the speed of the preceding vehicle and the set distance, but also adjust the vehicle speed according to the road speed limit. The system will call the road speed limit information provided by the navigation system to ensure that the vehicle will not exceed the speed limit, and at the same time let the vehicle drive safely in the lane through the lane departure warning/avoidance function.
The forward collision warning/avoidance function of BMW i4 has also been upgraded. BMW said that i4′ s sensing system can accurately identify vehicles in static or moving state, as well as pedestrians and cyclists. With a more efficient sensing system, i4 can better avoid collisions.
In addition, parking distance assistance and reversing camera are also standard in the whole system, and optional functions include reversing collision warning and panoramic 3D image display.
Among traditional car companies, BMW’s intelligent process can not be underestimated. In the fields of autonomous driving and intelligent cockpit, BMW already has a large number of core technologies, which is pressing for new forces to build cars step by step.
At the same time, BMW’s electrification transformation is also the fastest in the industry. As early as 2014, BMW has mass-produced two models, i3 and i8, laying the foundation for future models. Nowadays, a large wave of pure electric products are put on the market, which shows BMW’s determination in the field of intelligence and electrification.