BMW has completed a 5,886.7 km drive across Europe in its new i3 50 xDrive electric saloon, requiring just two hours and 46 minutes of DC charging throughout the journey.
The car also averaged 12.5 kWh/100 km, beating its official WLTP consumption range of 13.4 to 18 kWh/100 km.
The journey, known as the Paneuropeana, began at Norway’s North Cape and ended in Tarifa, southern Spain, crossing eight countries.
BMW said the result beat the previous charging-time record set in 2017 by more than seven hours.
The challenge was designed to minimise charging time rather than driving time. Participants followed specified checkpoints but could choose charging locations and routes to maximise efficiency.
The i3 used only publicly accessible charging stations, achieving an average charging power of 275 kW.
Driving took three days, two hours and 41 minutes, with an average moving speed of 79.7 kph.
A single BMW engineer drove the production-specification vehicle, accompanied by two support cars. The charging total excludes the energy already stored in its battery at the start.
The i3 50 xDrive uses BMW’s sixth-generation eDrive technology, combining an 800-volt electrical architecture with a 108.7 kWh usable battery and two electric motors.
Combined output is 345 kW (469 PS) and 645 Nm, while maximum WLTP range reaches 912 km.
Its DC charging system supports up to 400 kW, with BMW claiming enough energy for 423 km of WLTP range can be added in 10 minutes.
Efficiency improvements include a drag coefficient of 0.21, reduced rolling resistance and electric motors with 40% lower energy losses than the previous generation.
BMW also credits its Heart of Joy control system, which manages more than 95% of braking through energy recuperation.
The manufacturer said the drive demonstrated how battery efficiency and high charging speeds could reduce downtime over long distances.
