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NEWS
DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: BMW ActiveHybrid 3
BMW announces hybrid 3 Series at Detroit Motor Show, and it's a likely starter Down UnderAs the hybrid race heats up, BMW has added a second contender to its newly announced ActiveHybrid line-up, the sixth-generation 3 Series based ActiveHybrid 3.
Joining the larger ActiveHybrid 5 on stage in Detroit, ActiveHybrid 3 offers a combined fuel economy average of approximately 6.0L/100km, and a 0-100km/h time of 5.6 seconds (comparable to that of the 335i). The car comes as the culmination of nearly five years R&D and will serve as an interim strategy ahead of the German marque's move to full electrification.
Like the ActiveHybrid 5, ActiveHybrid 3 augments a 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine with an electric drive system, itself integrated within the car's eight-speed automatic transmission. A 1.35kWh nanophosphate lithium-ion battery pack, produced in-house, supplies power. In all-electric mode, ActiveHybrid 3 can travel approximately four kilometres.
BMW Australia's head of communications, Piers Scott, told motoring.com.au the ActiveHybrid 3 is a likely contender for our local market, even if it is a ways off.
"It's a little off the radar at this point. We have ActiveHybrid 5 to deal with first. But we are planning to offer the ActiveHybrid 3, albeit in very low volume numbers," Scott said.
"Our main focus [at this stage] is the US and Japanese markets where government incentives make hybrid ownership more feasible, [and] there's a strong demand in both those markets.
"The ActiveHybrid 5 and ActiveHybrid 3 will however form part of an important bridging strategy here [both here in Australia] and overseas ahead of the launch of our BMWi model range.
"Interestingly, customer demand [for hybrids] is strong in Australia. I think buyers are keen to adopt hybrid technology. We're equally keen to show just what we're capable of with our range of luxury models that offer the performance, fuel economy, and arguably wider appeal."
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Written byMatt Brogan
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