BMW i4 — Specifications & VIN Lookup

About the BMW i4

The BMW i4 is a battery electric compact executive car produced by BMW since 2021. It has a five-door liftback body style and is marketed as a four-door coupé. The initial concept version, named BMW i Vision Dynamics, debuted at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. It is the fifth BMW i sub-brand model, and is sold in several variants at different performance levels, including the first battery-electric variant by BMW's motorsport division. The production version was revealed in March 2021 and went on sale in November of the same year as a 2022 model.

The BMW i4 (model code G26) is a battery electric compact executive car produced by BMW since 2021. It has a five-door liftback body style and is marketed as a four-door coupé. The initial concept version, named BMW i Vision Dynamics, debuted at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. It is the fifth BMW i sub-brand model, and is sold in several variants at different performance levels, including the first battery-electric variant by BMW's motorsport division. The production version was revealed in March 2021 and went on sale in November of the same year as a 2022 model.

Development and launch An investment of about €200 million in the Munich plant was made in preparation for the 2021 series production as the G26 BMW i4 is built on the same assembly line as cars with combustion engines and plug-in hybrids. While 90% of the existing production equipment in the body shop were incorporated into the production process of the i4, several new systems were required mainly for the floor assembly and rear structure as the electric drive and high-voltage battery are different from conventional architectures. The plant was closed for six weeks in the summer of 2020 to convert more than 1000 robots in the body shop and assembly area to prepare it for the assembly of the i4. The electric motor is assembled in Dingolfing. The i4 was revealed fully production-ready in March 2021, three months ahead of schedule, and went on sale in November 2021. Over an ownership period of 200,000 km (125,000 mi), BMW stated at launch that the eDrive40 has a 45 percent lower global warming potential than that of a comparable diesel G20 3 Series or G22 4 Series model. Furthermore, BMW enhanced the sustainability of its supply chain and increased its use of recycled materials for the i4, cutting the production emissions by 18 percent.

Specifications

Body and chassis

The production model is based on the modular CLAR platform to keep costs low and volume-production attainable. Although it is described as a battery-powered G20 3 Series, the model uses the bodyshell design of the G26 4 Series Gran Coupé. The i4 has a MacPherson strut front suspension and multi-link rear suspension with rear air suspension as standard (the M50 adds adaptive M dampers). It has a damping system designed to reduce “dipping movements of the body” under acceleration or braking, with an “actuator-related wheel slip limitation” system to better boost traction and stability. The i4 has an almost completely flat underbody, resulting in a low drag coefficient of 0.24 for the eDrive40 and 0.25 for the M50. Compared to the G20 3 Series, it has 26 mm (1.0 in) wider front tracks and 13 mm (0.5 in) wider rear tracks. Due to the low floor location of the battery pack for better agility, the M50's center of gravity is 34 mm (1.3 in) lower than the G20 3 Series and 53 mm (2.1 in) lower in the eDrive40. An active air flap control at the bottom of the grille can be adjusted in ten stages, allowing cooling air to be supplied to the drive system, battery, brakes, and air conditioning system in precise quantities. The eDrive40 has a 45:55 weight distribution, while it is 48:52 for the M50.