The BMW ActiveE is the first real-world product of Project i that wears a roundel. And who better to give us an introduction of the car at Geneva than Rich Steinberg, BMW of North America’s Manager of Electric Vehicle Operations and Strategy.
First the look. As with the MINI E, the BMW ActiveE will have some exterior graphics and design elements that will distinguish it for a standard 1 Series Coupe. The interior will also be distinguished with displays specific to EV applications. Here Rich describes the newly developed electric motor and battery cell technology that differentiate it from the MINI E. As BMW announced more than a year ago, the batteries in the BMW ActiveE will feature liquid heating and cooling so that the batteries would be at optimal operating temperature in order to maximize driving range in either hot or cold ambient conditions. As the BMW Group identified through the MINI E field trial as early 2009, temperature extremes can significantly impact the potential driving range of a drivetrain which uses lithium-ion cell technology.
BMW has released it’s latest Active E video – this time detailing the cars usability in every day living. The ActiveE (yes we’re getting tired of that second ‘e’ as well) is BMW’s first electric vehicle with four seats a d decent luggage compartment (200 liters). (Full gallery after the break)
We’ve combed through the various videos that BMW has released on the Active E and brought you the best of the lot. The 12 minute piece goes through the design and technology behind the car and gives you a better understanding of how it all works together.
Official Release: The 2011 Geneva Motor Show will see the world premier of the BMW ActiveE. Based on the current BMW 1 Series Coupé, the BMW ActiveE is the second electric test vehicle to be created by the BMW Group.
With four seats and a luggage compartment of 200 litres, the BMW ActiveE is the first electric vehicle from the BMW Group to combine the space and comfort of a traditionally powered BMW with a fully electric drivetrain. Intelligent packaging ensures that the driver and all three passengers have the same head, leg and shoulder room as they would in a standard BMW 1 Series Coupé. (Full gallery after the break)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
We took a break of the 1M this week to talk about the new 6 Series concept. Is it finally a 6er that we can love? Early signs point to yes. Then we talk about the updated Vision concept for Paris. It’s a further iteration on what we saw last year but this time with a fully
functional the three cylinder diesel hybrid (among other things). Rounding out the sustainability section of the show we move to the ActiveE and BMW’s plans to expand it to new markets in the east and west coasts of the US.
For the upcoming ActiveE, BMW is expanding it’s markets from the MINI E study from LA and NYC to include a larger surrounding area on the east and west coast. The 1 Series based electric vehicle will begin it’s trial summer of 2011 leading up to the release of a new BMW megacity all electric vehicle in 2013. For an entire library of articles and technical information on the car, make sure to visit our ActiveE section.
A number of BMW’s European trademarks were recently unearthed by our favorite public tipster Scott27 that foreshadow a number of new products. And based on other sources they also unlock two entirely new lines of products that we expect to see by 2015.
For starters BMW will be creating two entirely new lines of products: the “i” and “e” line-up. It’s assumed that E (as in E1, E3 and so on) will be BMW’s range of electric vehicles that could correspond with their existing line-up. The “i” nomenclature will likely be the official name of the iSetta megacity range of small cars. Expect i1, i3 and so on.
Beyond that BMW also registered the following:
M50d – likely M’s first tri-turbo diesel (yes as in three turbos) product potentially used in the 5 Series, 6 Series and the X5, X6 twins.
BMW has gone the length of officially disputing the notion that the upcoming launch of the ActiveE will be smaller than the MINI E field study. In fact based on our understanding the idea is to offer at least the same number in hopes that many of those MINI E customers would move over to the Active E.
Official Release: Recent published reports have incorrectly stated that the size of the fleet of BMW ActiveEs that will be deployed during the BMW Group’s second-phase field trial in the US will be limited to 200 vehicles. While the exact size of the fleet has yet to be confirmed, it will be at least as large as the MINI E fleet which is currently in operation. There are 450 MINI Es on the road in the US right now. They are being driven by a dedicated group of individuals and select fleet users.
BimmerFile is dedicated to bringing you the most interesting news, links and reviews related to the BMW brand and it's vehicles.
We believe in the old school BMW ownership experience. We believe in garage nights with a six pack and some friends. We believe in 2002s, in E30 M3s and E34 540s with the 6 speed. We believe in progress in both design and engineering but we haven't lost sight of what made the brand and its products great all those years ago. And yes, we believe in the manual transmission.
We long for the days of the wave and for the days of roll-up windows. Yet we love the gadgets on the inside and the xenons on the outside.
In short, we can't get enough of BMWs. This is BimmerFile.
Sections: ActveE, Project i, Video Mar 6th, 2011 1 Comment 
