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BMW Expands Its 530e Pilot Wireless Charging Program To U.S.
200 BMW 530e retrofitted with 3.2 kW wireless charging will be available in California.
Mark Kane 
By: Mark Kane
Aug 12, 2019 at 8:05am ET
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BMW started its wireless charging pilot program in Germany in 2018 using the BMW 530e plug-in hybrid as a testbed.
Now the program expands to the U.S. or rather to California to be more precise, as 200 cars with the wireless charging system will be available for lease in thirteen CA counties including: San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Alameda and Sonoma counties in Northern CA and Orange, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties in southern CA.
That special 530es are equipped with a CarPad for wireless charging (see the press release with full list of features). The 3.2 kW Inductive Charging Station (GroundPad) needs to be installed at the customer's location, but no worries - BMW covers all costs, expenses and expenditures associated with the initial installation, maintenance and de-installation of the Ground Pad Module.
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Charging, at an efficiency of 85%, takes about 3.5 hours.
"BMW Wireless Charging consists of an Inductive Charging Station (GroundPad) and a secondary vehicle component (CarPad) fixed to the underside of the vehicle. The contactless transfer of energy between the GroundPad and CarPad is conducted over a distance of around three inches. The GroundPad generates a magnetic field. In the CarPad an electric current is induced, which then charges the high-voltage battery."
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To participate in the pilot program, customers need to visit https://www.qmerit.com/bmwwireless for pre-qualification. BMW requires an enclosed garage space.
"The pilot program is available in the state of California for 200 interested, qualifying residential home customers who are able to charge inside an enclosed garage space. Availability is based on 200-equally equipped 530e program lease vehicles. The pre-qualification process begins with an online questionnaire at to help determine location suitability. The next step involves a 530e Readiness Survey about the garage and local electric grid. Approved participants will then receive a confirmation number to take to one of 33 participating CA dealers to complete the 36-month lease of the 530e Sedan. Qmerit will then complete the residential hardware installation.
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BMW Expands 530e Sedan Inductive Charging Pilot Program to U.S.
- Global pilot charging program began in Germany in 2018.
- U.S. test limited to 200 pilot program vehicles available to eligible California residents.
- Special 2019 530e PHEV Sedan Induction Charging lease package.
**Woodcliff Lake, NJ – August 9, 2019…**Today, BMW is pleased to announce the U.S. Market extension of BMW’s global Induction Charging Pilot Program. The pilot program began in Germany in 2018 and has recently expanded to include the U.S.
The pilot program is available in the state of California for 200 interested, qualifying residential home customers who are able to charge inside an enclosed garage space. Availability is based on 200-equally equipped 530e program lease vehicles. The pre-qualification process begins with an online questionnaire at https://www.qmerit.com/bmwwireless to help determine location suitability. The next step involves a 530e Readiness Survey about the garage and local electric grid. Approved participants will then receive a confirmation number to take to one of 33 participating CA dealers to complete the 36-month lease of the 530e Sedan. Qmerit will then complete the residential hardware installation.
All costs, expenses and expenditures associated with the initial installation, maintenance and de-installation of the Ground Pad Module are covered by BMW. Participating dealers cover thirteen CA counties including San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Alameda and Sonoma counties in Northern CA and Orange, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties in southern CA.
BMW Wireless Charging enables electric energy from a main power supply, via installed GroundPad, to be transmitted to a vehicle’s high-voltage battery without any cables – when the vehicle is positioned over an induction base pad. This can be installed in the garage, for example, and the charging process started as soon as the vehicle has been parked in position without any further input from the driver. The launch of this technology sees the BMW Group move another step closer to an infrastructure that will make charging the battery of an electrified vehicle even simpler than refueling a car with a conventional engine.
BMW Wireless Charging consists of an Inductive Charging Station (GroundPad) and a secondary vehicle component (CarPad) fixed to the underside of the vehicle. The contactless transfer of energy between the GroundPad and CarPad is conducted over a distance of around three inches. The GroundPad generates a magnetic field. In the CarPad an electric current is induced, which then charges the high-voltage battery.
The system has a charging power of 3.2 kW, enabling the high-voltage batteries on board the BMW 530e iPerformance to be fully charged in around three-and-a-half hours. And with an efficiency rate of around 85 per cent.
Inductive charging: even easier than refueling.
BMW Wireless Charging employs the same inductive charging technology already widely used for supplying power to devices such as mobile phones and electric toothbrushes to now also recharge the high-voltage batteries in electrified vehicles. The principal benefit here is ease of use, as drivers no longer need to plug in a charging cable. Instead, as soon as the vehicle has been parked in the correct position above the inductive Charging Station, followed by a simple push of the Start/Stop button, the charging process is initiated. Once the battery is fully charged, the system switches off automatically.
BMW Wireless Charging also helps the driver to maneuver their 530e into the correct parking position with the help of a WiFi connection between the charging station and vehicle. An overhead view of the car and its surroundings is displayed in center Control Display with colored lines that help guide the driver into the correct spot. A graphic icon shows when the correct parking position for inductive charging has been reached. This can deviate from the optimum position by up to 2.75 inches longitudinally and up to 5.5 inches laterally. All components that conduct electricity are protected from rain and snow, and driving over the GroundPad will not damage it in any way.
During charging, ambient electromagnetic radiation is limited to the vehicle undercarriage. The GroundPad is permanently monitored and will be switched off if any foreign matters are detected.
530e Sedan Pilot Program Standard Equipment
The 530e sedans specially configured for the Induction Charging Pilot Program come with a comprehensive suite of standard and optional equipment including:
- Choice of Alpine White, Black Sapphire Metallic or Bluestone Metallic
-
Black Dakota Leather
-
Induction Car Pad module
-
Induction Ground Pad Module (Professional installation and de-installation)
-
M Sport Package
- 19-inch M Double-spoke wheels
- Comfort Access Keyless Entry
- Shadowline exterior trim
- SiriusXM Satellite Radio with 1 year All-Access trial subscription
- Power trunk lid
- Heated front seats
- M Steering wheel and aerodynamic kit
- LED fog lights
-
Active Driving Assistant – Pedestrian Warning with braking, City Collision Mitigation with braking, Speed Limit Information, Blind Spot Detection, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Rear Collision preparation.
-
Active Protection – automatic front seat-belt tensioning, automatic closing of windows and moonroof, fatigue and focus alert, post-crash braking.
-
Active Blind Spot detection
-
Frontal Collision Warning with city collision mitigation
-
Lane Departure warning
-
Head-Up Display
-
Surround View with 3D view Camera System
-
Rear view camera and park distance control
-
Sport Steptronic 8-speed automatic transmission
-
Moonroof
-
Power front sport seats with split-fold down rear seat
-
Acoustic protection for pedestrians
-
Ambient lighting
-
LED headlights
-
Navigation
-
Apple CarPlay Compatibility with 1 year free trial
-
Harman Kardon Surround Sound Audio System
-
Enhanced USB and Bluetooth plus Smartphone integration
Specifications
530e
Seats
--
5
Number of Doors
--
4
Drive type
--
RWD
Length
inches
194.6
Width / Width with mirrors
inches
73.5 / 83.7
Height
inches
58.4
Wheelbase
inches
117.1
Turning radius
feet
19.6
Ground clearance
Inches
5.9
Shoulder width front / rear
inches
58.7 / 55.9
Legroom front / rear
inches
41.4 / 36.5
Headroom front / rear
inches
38.8 / 37.5
Trunk volume
ft³
14.5
Fuel Tank capacity
gallons
12.1
Curb weight
lbs.
4,297
Internal combustion engine type
B46B20
Induction
Turbocharged
Fuel type
--
gasoline
Cylinders
--
4
Displacement
cm³
1,998
Compression rate
:1
10.2
Engine power
hp @ rpm
180 @ 4,000 – 6,500
Engine torque
ft. lbs.
255 @ 1,800 – 4,750
eDrive motor type
--
AC Synchronous
eDrive motor power
hp @ rpm
111 @ 3,170
eDrive motor torque
lb-ft @ rpm
184 @ 0 - 3,170
Combined power
hp @ rpm
248 @ 4,000 – 6,500
Combined torque
lb-ft @ rpm
310 @ 1,450 – 3,500
High-voltage battery capacity
kWh / Ah
9.2 / 60
Transmission type
--
8-speed automatic
Gear ratios 1st / 2nd / 3rd
--
4.71 / 3.14 / 2.11
4th / 5th / 6th
--
1.67 / 1.29 / 1.00
7th / 8th / Final drive
--
0.84 / 0.67 / 3.23
Reverse gear
--
3.32
Tires, standard, front / rear
--
245/40R19 A/S
Wheels, standard, 18 front / rear
inches
8.0 x 19
Drag coefficient
Cd
0.26
0-60 mph
seconds
6.0
Top speed
mph
130
Combined EPA hybrid economy
MPGe
72
Combined EPA fuel economy
MPG
29
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