and Ford is seeing the construction of 400 supersize charging points at key junctures along the major highways connecting European countries .
“ These chargers are much bigger than the DC 50kW , we are talking 150 to 350kW which can charge a car in minutes ,” Arnold says . “ Models that we are releasing in the coming years with longer ranges of 400km-plus will be able to plug into these bigger chargers .”
This will all help combat widelyheld concerns over range . Arnold adds : “ For the time being , range is the currency with electric mobility . Everybody is talking about it . As an automotive society , we have gotten used to ranges of 600 or 700km , even 1,000km with modern diesels . This is normal - personal mobility is endless .
“ Now we are offering a completely new , more unusual mobility . You can still travel long distances , but may have to plan slightly more carefully in terms of where to stop and recharge . However , come the 2020s we will be seeing ranges on electric cars of more than 500km and this will be standard .”
A driverless electric future ? While Arnold ’ s immediate target for
2018 is to surpass the 100,000-plus models sold this year , what will happen in the 2020s is being defined by the work BMW i is undertaking now .
Driverless technology is developing alongside electric mobility solutions , and combination of the two is inevitable . For BMW , this will arrive as early as 2021 with the global launch of the iNext , but will autonomous capability deliver even further environmental efficiencies ?
“ First and foremost , we believe the iNext will make mobility safer ,” Arnold answers . “ Electrification will become the new normal , and BMW i ’ s next task is to introduce the next step , which is driverless . The iNext will combine the electric drive with level three and level four autonomous driving . Yes , it will reduce the power consumption of the car as it can drive more intelligently and detect traffic situations , but the biggest point will be safety .”
Rolling out a completely safe , fully-electric autonomous car that is ready to integrate into transit systems worldwide in a little over three years appears a daunting task , but Arnold and BMW i by nature must live in the future . “ 2021 to a person like me feels like the day after tomorrow ,” he quips .
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