MUNICH – Starting next year, all BMW plug-in hybrid models will come standard with a function that automatically switches to full-electric mode when the vehicles enter areas designated for emissions-free driving only.
The function, called eDrive Zones, will use geofencing technology to recognize “green zones,” established by cities for emissions-free driving, and automatically change the driving mode to EV, the automaker said Tuesday.
BMW hopes eDrive Zones will allow plug-in hybrids to receive the same access rights to green zones as full EVs because they will behave the same way in these areas, the company said.
This new type of operating strategy significantly boosts the potential of plug-in hybrid vehicles to reduce emissions, said BMW, which has been running a test of the technology in the Netherlands. Increasing the use of electric driving not only optimizes efficiency but also helps reduce operating costs for customers, especially in city traffic, BMW said.
Automakers are under increasing pressure to reduce tailpipe pollution. That’s especially true in Europe, where they are racing to reduce fleet emissions to 95 grams per kilometer by 2021 from 120.5g/km in 2018 to comply with EU rules. Every car in Europe is expected to require some level of electrification to meet the EU’s goal of reducing average carbon dioxide emissions to 59.4g/km by 2030.
BMW plug-in hybrids to get green upgrade in 2020
BMW's electrified lineup (shown) is dominated by plug-in hybrids.
BMW also said it will now reach the previously announced goal of having 25 electrified models on the road by 2025 two years earlier.
Thanks to flexible vehicle architectures for full-electric, plug-in hybrid and combustion-engine drivetrains, the automaker said, it is able to respond quickly to changing conditions. More than half of the 25 models will be full-electric, BMW said.
“We are moving up a gear in the transformation toward sustainable mobility,” BMW CEO Harald Krueger said in a statement. “By 2021, we will have doubled our sales of electrified vehicles [battery-electric and plug-in hybrid] compared with 2019.”
BMW expects to see a steep growth curve toward 2025, Krueger said, with sales of EVs increasing an average of 30 percent every year.
Last year, the BMW Group increased sales of electrified vehicles 38.4 percent to a combined 142,617 BMWs and Minis. The company expects to reach an overall total of half a million sales of electrified cars by the end of the year.
Since the launch of the i3 in 2013, BMW has sold more than 150,000 units of the so-called “born electric” compact.
This year, the automaker will start production of the electric Mini at its plant in Oxford, England. This will be followed in 2020 by the electric BMW iX3 midsize SUV, to be built in Shenyang, China, for global markets. Following in 2021 will be the iNEXT crossover, which will be made in Dingolfing, Germany, and the i4 midsize sedan, set to be assembled in Munich.
BMW currently offers plug-in hybrid versions of the 3- and 7-series sedans and X3 and X5 crossovers. This summer, the company will release plug-in hybrid versions of the 5 series and 2-series Active Tourer with next-generation technology and a longer electric range. These will be followed next year by the X1 and 3-series Touring plug-in hybrids.
