So BMW's retrofit program is indeed something unique, and hopefully something the other OEMs copy. Nissan Has A Battery Swap Program For Replacement Packs In fact, Transport Evolved covered this topic in depth with this postĀ a couple months ago. There's plenty of reasons why BMW is the first OEM to offer this on a currently available model.
Offering a battery pack upgrade isn't an easy thing to do, it's not just a matter of swapping the modules with the new cells. This isn't a battery upgrade program since Nissan only gave customers the option to replace their battery with the same one, albeit new pack. They won't however, allow a customer with a 24 kWh to upgrade it to the new LEAF 30 kWh battery. The only other upgrade comparison worth noting is that Nissan will allow LEAF owners to replace their pack with the same size 24 kWh battery for $5,499. Roadster owners were generally underwhelmed by the upgrade offer, and while it's unclear how many took advantage of the program, it's most certainly a very small number. Tesla does not offer battery retrofit upgrades to vehicles that are currently in production, namely the Model S and Model X. The exception being Tesla, which has offered a battery upgrade option for their Roadster owners to consider, however it costs $29,000 and was offered three years after Tesla sold their last Roadster.
Tesla Roadster Battery Swap Will Set You Back Almost $30,000 There's a reason why no OEM has offered a battery retrofit program for a currently-available model like this. This is actually pretty close to what I predicted an upgrade would cost, and why I've previously said it will be very hard for BMW (or any manufacturer for that matter) to offer a reasonably priced battery upgrade as new, better battery cells become available. I've also seen people in i3 Facebook groups discuss a number similar to that, so I believe $8,000 is likely accurate. While there hasn't been any official cost announced for the upgrade yet, I've had people in European countries that will participate contact me, and tell me they were quoted roughly $8,000 US. It's believed that is because the cost of the retrofit is high, and since the cars are still relatively new, they believe few customers would elect to upgrade. BMW of North America and BMW UK have both declined to participate at this time. I highlighted "select markets" because it appears that BMW AG is allowing its regional offices to decide if they want to participate in the retrofit program. This effectively proves how sustainable BMW i technology is across its entire production and service life cycle." The 22 kWh batteries traded-in by customers are used to build stationary storage battery modules thus starting their second life. This program is available in select markets. With the introduction of the new 94Ah battery, BMW gives BMW i customers the opportunity of retrofitting their purely electric BMW i3 (60 Ah) with the new 33 kWh battery as part of the a high-voltage retrofit program. This design also includes retrofitting new battery technologies. The BMW i3 is the first automobile in the premium compact segment in the world to have been designed from scratch as a purely electrically powered vehicle. This is safe-guarded by the flexible LifeDrive vehicle architecture. The consumer is given the assurance that his (her) BMW i3 can be adapted to the latest technicalĀ developments in a resource-saving way. "The Main focus at BMW i is on sustainability. Retrofit Program: The Battery Can Be Exchanged Optionally About halfway down the press release, this interesting bit was stated: These new battery cells are physically the same size as the currently used cells, but can hold 50% more energy and are only slightly heavier. This means the 2017 i3 will have an EPA range of 114 miles, up from the current 81 miles per charge. The big news in BMW i's May 2nd press release was, as expected, that BMW would be upgrading the i3's battery cells from 60 Ah to 94 Ah. So the news that BMW (regionally) would begin a battery upgrade program for their current i3 owners is good indeed, even if it may be something that isn't really necessary, or practical - yet. In fact, it's something that many EV owners have been vocal about wanting to see offered. The concept of upgrading an electric vehicle's battery pack is certainly not a new one. Here's Why an i3 Battery Upgrade Currently Doesn't Make Sense