How Do BMW Electric Cars Work?

For about a century or so, the typical way cars ran was pretty simple: you’d put gas in the tank and this would fuel the internal combustion engine to get things moving. However, with the advent of electric vehicles, suddenly having a car doesn’t automatically mean dealing with a combustion engine. If you’re wondering how exactly these BMW electric vehicles work, BMW of Northwest Arkansas goes over the ins and outs.

EV Elements inside of BMW vehicle.

EV Elements

If you have ever looked under the hood of a gas-powered car, you know that the engine takes up a lot of real estate. You won’t see that in an EV. In fact, you might not see anything in the front, because electric vehicles primarily use motors to run, and these are sometimes located in the rear.

The other integral components of an EV include a lithium-ion battery pack and inverter.

Powering an EV

When you turn on BMW model that runs solely on electricity, the first thing that happens is that the inverter takes the direct current (DC) from the battery pack and converts it to alternating current (AC), which powers the motor. Here’s why it works this way: while batteries store power as DC, electric motors are designed to run efficiently on AC power for optimal performance and control.

Another important thing the inverter does is control the frequency of the AC power circulating to the motor, which manages the vehicle’s speed.

EV BMWi charging station at home.

Charging an EV

An EV needs electricity to function, and keeping your model charged up is easy. Many of the electric models we sell at BMW of Northwest Arkansas can just be plugged into regular 120-volt household outlets, though it takes a while to charge this way.

The better option is to use Level 2 charging, which uses a 240-volt outlet — this can usually fill up a battery in around 10 hours. Another option is DC fast charging, which can be found at public stations, and this will add many miles of driving range in a short period of time.

Test-Drive a BMW Electric Vehicle in Bentonville, AR

Now that you know how an electric car works, it’s time for a hands-on experience. Come down to our BMW dealership in Bentonville, AR, to take a model out for a test drive. If you already have your eye on a specific EV, you can start the BMW financing process by filling out our online application.