BMW C Evolution: Electrically Through The City

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BMW C Evolution: Electrically Through The City
BMW C Evolution: Electrically Through The City

Video: BMW C Evolution: Electrically Through The City

Video: BMW C Evolution: Electrically Through The City
Video: Электрический скутер BMW C-Evolution / обзор и покатушка 2024, March
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BMW is launching the first electric scooter from a premium manufacturer on the market in May. The Munich-based company is thus adding an important component to its urban mobility offering.

Frank Mertens

The electric mobility currently ekes out a shadow existence. This is due on the one hand to the still manageable range of electric cars and on the other hand to the high price. This also goes hand in hand with a range that is far too short for a car. A vehicle like the BMW i3, for example, has a range of 130 to 160 kilometers, depending on the driving mode.

So it is of little interest that according to the various studies, a commuter usually does not cover more than 30 to 40 kilometers a day. A distance that an electric car can easily cover three to four times. Nevertheless, according to figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), just 823 new electric vehicles were registered. That is an increase of around 331 percent, but in absolute terms it remains a sobering result.

No hope of a rapid sales boom

They give little hope of a rapid sales boom, especially since the government continues to reject purchase premiums and has not yet left the discussion status with a view to incentives such as free parking in the city center or the use of bus lanes. Against this background, it was already brave to spend billions in developing a new vehicle like the i3, which costs around 35,000 euros.

But the BMW Group does not rely on short-term success, it thinks in perspective and holistically. After the i3 came onto the market last year, and the i8 is now following as a plug-in hybrid, the Bavarians will also be pushing an electric scooter after May - the C Evolution. It is the only electrically powered scooter from a premium manufacturer to date - and that has its price: the Munich-based company is self-confident calling for it to be 15,000 euros. That's 3800 euros more than you have to put on the dealer's table for the BMW C 600 Sport scooter (11,200 euros), for example.

Anyone who brings such a model onto the market in these times must have great confidence in their product and, above all, in the customer, who has not yet turned to e-mobility to the extent that the manufacturers hope. The C Evolution has a peak output of 48 hp and a real range of 100 kilometers, which can be covered locally emission-free.

Single-track mobility in demand in metropolises

BMW C Evolution
BMW C Evolution

But in the face of full cities, BMW is confident that there is demand for such e-scooters, as Nikolaus Bauer said at the presentation of the C Evolution in Barcelona. "1.6 million people live in a city like Barcelona, but around 300,000 single-track vehicles are registered." Something like this shows the prospects for such a two-wheeler, says the head of the series at BMW Motorrad. After BMW Motorrad has already occupied the Sport, Tour, Roadster, Enduro and Urban Mobility segments with the C 600 Sport and the C 650 GT, the C Evolution now rounds off the latter area with an emission-free model.

Even if there are so far only very few European cities have access restrictions or a city toll for cars with combustion engines, such as in Stockholm or London, it should only be a matter of time before other metropolises, threatened by traffic collapse, follow suit. The people of Munich want to be prepared for Day X. For the market launch, sales of the C Evolution should move in a manageable range. This can also be seen in the production figures: ten models are produced every day at the BMW plant in Berlin-Spandau. But one is very flexible here to react to high demand, emphasizes Bauer.

Even if the C Evolution will initially only be sold in Europe, this model may well be something for a country like China. Here the government is already reacting with registration restrictions for cars in order not only to do something against the traffic blackout, but also to relieve the environment. Beijing is known to suffer from permanent smog. An at least locally emission-free vehicle like the C Evolution, if it is not powered by electricity from coal, could bring relief here. But that is still a long way off.

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BMW C Evolution
BMW C Evolution

The here and now takes place in Europe - and the developers around project manager Christian Ebner have put an all-round convincing model on the road - and also benefited from the development of the i3. Because the memory modules of the C Evolution come from the i3.

While the energy in the e-car is stored in eight modules, the e-scooter has three with twelve cells each. Incidentally, the Bavarians give the battery a guarantee for a mileage of 50,000 kilometers. Incidentally, these 50,000 kilometers are also the benchmark from which the additional price of the C Evolution has amortized, if one estimates an electricity price of 26 cents per kilometer. Incidentally, the charging time for the C Evolution is manageable: an empty battery can be charged in three hours at a household socket, and 80 percent of the charge level is reached in 2:15 hours. These are times that make an e-scooter a reliable everyday vehicle even for frequent drivers. BMW Motorrad is also working on a mobility concept for the C Evolution. It has not yet been finally decidedbut like with the BMW i3, it will offer the option of switching to other models from the Munich-based company if you want to take a longer journey.

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