BMW Pioneered Range Extended EVs. Now It’s Not So Sure

• BMW says it could build a range extender again, but hasn’t decided there’s a real need for one.
• Faster-charging EVs reduce the case for REx, as BMW calls the technology, but patchy infrastructure could still keep the idea alive.
• BMW helped pioneer the format with the funky i3 hatchback. 

While other manufacturers are pivoting back to combustion engines—some even going so far as to add range-extending generators to their electric platforms—BMW isn’t sold. The company was a pioneer in extended-range EVs (EREVs) with the i3 REx hatchback. Now, as firms from Scout to Ford dive into EREVs, BMW is not sure that’s the smartest move.

In a recent interview with BMW Blog, BMW’s product boss, Bernd Körber, revealed that while the automaker doesn’t rule out introducing range extenders in the future, the scenario where they would actually be needed is a bit fuzzy.

“In theory, we are capable of REx if we want to do so,” he said. “By nature, being technology open means we’re looking into these topics, but no decisions have been made.”

He explained BMW could consider range extenders if its pure electric models miss sales expectations. Going that direction shouldn’t pose a big technical challenge for BMW, he added, “because it’s easy to derive an REx from an EV.” 

But does the Bavarian automaker really need range extenders when its newest EVs have over 500 miles (805 km) of WLTP range and blazing-fast, 400-kilowatt fast charging? Maybe an EREV provides some peace of mind for people who live in areas with bad fast-charger coverage. But the reality is that charging infrastructure in both Europe and the U.S. is already decent and constantly improving. And EV technology is worlds different from when the i3 launched over a decade ago. 

Back in 2014, when the i3 came out, the charging networks here in Europe and around the world were a fraction of what they are today, and it had a pretty tiny battery. The i3 REx made a lot of sense back then for a vehicle with a real-world range of around 80 miles (130 km). An extra 90 miles (145 km) courtesy of a motorbike engine mounted under the trunk with a small fuel tank was a significant boost.

BMW eventually abandoned the REx variant of the i3 in 2018 after updating the model a second time and increasing its battery capacity to 42.2 kWh, which bumped the claimed WLTP range to 193 miles (310 km).

There haven’t been many extended-range EVs launched in Western markets since. One is the Mazda MX-30, which was cool and used a Wankel rotary engine as the generator, but hardly anybody bought one. Nissan e-Power hybrids and plug-in hybrids can be considered range extenders since their combustion engines don’t directly power the wheels, but that’s about it.

Photo by: BMW

EREVs seem to be making a comeback, though, with Scout, Ram, Jeep, and Hyundai launching such models in the near future. Bloomberg reported in November that BMW was considering offering range extender versions of the X5 and 7 Series in China. The manufacturer neither confirmed nor denied it when, in a later statement, it said it was “continuously analyzing usage patterns, customer needs and market developments and reviewing the market potential of various technologies.”

Indeed, Körber said something similar to BMW Blog, noting that if a bigger market for EREVs develops, it could look to develop something. For range extenders to make sense for BMW, though, they need to fit the company’s vision of what a car needs to be, he said. 

“The question would be the characteristics of the REx, because we have certain prerequisites when it comes to how does a BMW drive,” Korber said. “We would have to look into the drivetrain that we can tune toward being something we can put our brand on—that would be our requirement.”