BMW Group Malaysia launched the BMW EfficientDynamics Showcase today at Pavilion featuring the company’s celebrated ActiveE concept vehicle. According to Mr. Geoffrey Briscoe, Managing Director of BMW Group Malaysia, in the three years since BMW Group Malaysia has introduced BMW EfficientDynamics to the market with the fleet of BMW Advanced Diesel vehicles of the BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series, BMW 7 Series, BMW X1, BMW X3 & BMW X5, BMW now accounts 15 to 2- per cent of its total vehicle delivered to customers to be that of the Advanced Diesel variant.
Advanced diesel engines are able to consume up to 30 per cent less fuel whilst at the same time, provide 20 per cent more horsepower and up to 70 per cent better acceleration. The engines are also reputed to emit 25 per cent less carbon dioxide (CO²) compared to their petrol counterparts. At the current moment, the technology is also one of the more immediate solutions to tackling the issue of rising cost of fuel.
Mr. Briscoe said that the showcase by BMW was intended to provide Malaysians with an understanding of the broad technology spectrum for the premium automotive industry the BMW Group is exploring for today and the future which includes Advanced Petrol and Diesel Combustion engines, Hybrid Technology as well as electric and Hydrogen vehicles.
Officiating the showcase in Kuala Lumpur, Dato’ Jacob Dungau Sagan, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry further reiterated the Malaysian government’s commitment towards the adoption of Green Technology in Malaysia.
“The Malaysian government continues to pursue its commitments towards reducing carbon emission levels in the country by the year 2020 to 2005 era levels, as outlined during the Copenhagen Accord in 2009. These commitments serve both as a strategic initiative to introduce more advanced technology to Malaysia’s infrastructure and industry and to ensure the long term well being and health of our citizens,” said Dato’ Jacob.
Dato’ Jacob further added that he was pleased to see companies like BMW taking proactive steps to provide clarity around new innovations such as with electric vehicles. He said, “BMW Group Malaysia has made strong commitments to the country in its efforts to promote the use of clean and sustainable technology which has led to the introduction of advanced assembly techniques and technology to the country, first with the introduction of Advanced Diesel technology and hopefully with other sustainable drive trains in the near future.”
The BMW ActiveE is a fully electric drive car based on the BMW 1 Series body and is the second vehicle after the MINI E to be developed under the BMW Group’s Project i, an initiative towards the development and introduction of market feasible electric vehicles by the year 2013. The BMW ActiveE marks the next systematic step towards an emission-free, mass produced electric vehicle by BMW and will collate data from research and development work which is being conducted throughout the world with the main focus of establishing the necessary design parameters for a Megacity Vehicle that meets the demands of sustainable mobility solutions in congested urban areas.
Built on the platform based on the BMW 1 Series Coupe, the BMW ActiveE features four seats, a two hundred litre boot capacity and BMW’s newly conceived lithium-ion storage units to give it an effective range of 160km on a full charge. The BMW ActiveE’s batteries can also be fully replenished from a zero charge in 3 hours utilising either a home wall box or a public charging space, making it suitable for the lifestyles of most urban motorist.
At the heart of the BMW ActiveE is a powerful electric synchronous motor with a maximum power output of 125 kW/170 bhp. Maximum torque of 250 Nm- as is typical of electric vehicles – available from a standstill and, for the first time, remains utilisable across an exceptionally broad load range. As a result the BMW ActiveE is able to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 9 seconds flat. Top speed of the BMW ActiveE is electronically limited to 145 km/h and naturally, as a pure electric motor engine emits no CO2 emissions whatsoever.
With over a thousand units undergoing field trials throughout the world, BMW is developing intensive amounts of data on the requirements for the introduction of automotive infrastructure to fully support the introduction of a market viable Megacity Vehicle within the near future.
Presenting the BMW ActiveE, Mr. Glenn Schmidt, Head of Government Steering Affairs, BMW Group AG said, “For over 40 years now, BMW has led the field in introducing an array of technologies across all our product lines and assembly methods with the ambition of achieving total sustainability within the automotive industry.”
Schmidt added that the BMW ActiveE is but the most recent iteration of the BMW Group’s stand to introduce alternative sustainable drive-trains, joining BMW’s Advanced Diesel and BMW ActiveHybrid ranges so as to provide future solutions and options to as wide a range of communities facing as diverse a range of concerns, wherever they are in the world.
Members of the public who are keen to learn more about the BMW ActiveE are welcome to visit the public showcase which will be held at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur from 20-24th October 2011.
Note : Information derived from BMW Group Malaysia’s press release. According to Mr. Schmidt, the battery does not need to be changed and is a collaboration between Samsung and Bosch. He says the battery will last as long as the vehicle, i.e. 10-12 years.
