May be coming as a feature.
The folks at BMW are getting ready to deck the halls and fa la la around the Christmas tree. We know this because they’ve just released a video (above) showing an i3s — that’s the sport version of the i3 — venturing out into the woods to collect an appropriate evergreen specimen. But like the holiday itself, there’s a deeper meaning to the footage. Similar to the seasons greeting card we saw yesterday from its homeland competitor, it hints at something to come from the German brand.
The clip, titled “A glimpse into the future by BMW i,” makes its point by powering up festive lights on the tree as the car heads down the road. The electricity to create the holiday effect comes, of course, from the vehicle’s 42 kWh battery. The key moment comes at the 18-second mark, when we briefly see a plug being plugged into a socket.
If that wasn’t a strong enough hint, the company’s communications department makes it more clear with this statement on its website:
The BMW i3 is silent and carries much electricity on board; often even more than what is needed for driving. This video shows what could be done with it. The BMW i engineers are working on it.. (BMW i3 as a [sic] electricity dispenser).
Obviously, this is not a new concept. In fact, it strikes us that every electric car could have had this as an option for some time, now. Certainly, a number of companies with product yet-to-arrive — Bollinger, Rivian, and Workhorse spring to mind — mention it as a handy feature.
In any case, it looks like future battery-powered product from BMW will include a socket that one will be able to plug electrically-powered devices into. The question now is, what would you like to be able to plug into your plug-in car? Let us know in Comments.
Source: YouTube, BMW
Source: Electric Vehicle News
