BMW, the automotive giants of Germany and Europe, makers of premium cars and motorbikes, are perhaps not the first company that spring to mind with wind turbines. But, if you’re not aware, they are indeed with one vehicle in particular – the BMW i3 and its hotter sibling the i3S.

The i3 was one of the first pure EVs that was launched about 10 years ago and it has achieved icon status along with the Tesla, Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius. It was designed to be small on the outside, but large inside, making it perfect for cities and with a turn of pace that embarrassed many a hot hatch.

You didn’t click though to read a hymn to BMW, we don’t think.

Probably, you’re more interested in the BMW and i3’s associations with wind power.

So here goes.

The BMW i3, along with the i8 (no longer in production) were created in a plant in Leipzig, in the south of Germany, about 100 miles south of Germany. It is a large city that was originally in East Germany before the Berlin Wall toppled and the two countries unified. It’s a beautiful city, but like many urban centres, suffered from industrial pollution from heavy industry and BMW with wind power has been part of the place’s recalibration.

You see, the BMW factory in Leipzig is powered by wind turbines. 4 of them. All generating power since 2013.

We quote from BMW:

The four wind turbines on the grounds of BMW Group Plant Leipzig have been generating green wind energy for BMW i production since 2013. In fact, the BMW Group has been manufacturing its first fully electric model with locally generated green energy since day one. At 190 metres high and with nominal power of 2.5 megawatts each, the turbines generated a combined total of 26.4 gigawatt hours of electricity purely from wind in 2019 – enough to power more than 5,000 three-person households for a year.

Impressive isn’t it?

When you look more closely at the i3 too, its commitment to green credentials soars higher.

The car itself is sustainable. It is built from a carbon fibre reinforced plastic structure and has no centre pillar, but instead a F1 type monocoque body. Its door panels and dash are made from recycled materials – like plastic bottles, and it, obviously, has zero Co2 emissions.

You can watch an advert for it here:

 

Green Car, on launch, was impressed with it:

The factory for the i3 is substantially smaller than the size of a conventional car factory, less machinery is required, it’s quieter, and it requires 50% less energy, and 70% less water primarily due to the lack of a paint shop.

What’s more those 4 wind turbines produce more electricity than the factory needs meaning it powers homes too.

At HSEQ-360 Limited, we admire forward thinking companies like BMW. It is phasing out the i3 but you get the electrical equivalent of the X3 and X5, in the iX3 and iX.

These though have price tags that exceeds the price of a home in many a UK town and you will need plenty of money to invest in an iX. It starts from £77,000 and even, believe it or not, includes indicators!

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