You'll achieve the maximum range with your car by driving in an anticipatory manner and not wasting energy unnecessarily. This applies in particular to highway driving. You'll need to charge earlier if you drive faster than this. The slower you drive, the further you'll go. The speed on motorways is therefore the major factor affecting your range.

When you take your foot off the "electric pedal", that is, the accelerator, or only apply moderate pressure to the brake, your car uses brake energy regeneration (recuperation). Driving in an anticipatory manner and avoiding heavy braking increases your range. However, besides the speed at which you drive on highways, the outside temperature has the biggest impact on the range. The performance of the battery drops with colder temperatures. We also recommend pre-conditioning the vehicle interior to get the most out of your car from the outset. As cooling or heating uses electric energy, we recommend cooling or heating your car while it's charging to maintain its maximum range. Simply enter your preferred departure time including climate control on the My BMW app or in the vehicle menu. That way, when you set off, you'll automatically enjoy your ideal interior temperature and the state of charge you entered.

You can also use the BMW Efficient Mode to reduce energy consumption. Alongside other measures, this almost unnoticeably lowers the energy consumption of the air conditioning, seat heating, and other functions. However, don't trouble yourself unduly about the range as the charge-optimised route in the BMW navigation system indicates where and when you need to top up your car's charge.

Electric cars now have a very long range. Lithium-ion battery technology has improved massively in recent years. These batteries can now store more energy and be recharged more quickly. Modern electric cars are also designed to be energy efficient. This includes improvements to the aerodynamics, rolling resistance and energy recovery (recuperation) systems. This all helps to increase the range of the car. BMW offers a number of high-range models. The BMW i5 xDrive 40 has a maximum range of 428 km^[1], the BMW i4 eDrive40 has 512 km^[1]. The BMW i7 xDrive60 achieves an impressive 500 km^[1]. Increasing availability of charging stations now makes it easier and more convenient to drive electric cars over longer distances. With more and more charging stations along routes, drivers can now be confident that they can charge their batteries when they need to.

^[1] Range depends on various factors, in particular: individual driving style, route characteristics, outside temperature, heating/air conditioning, pre-conditioning.

^[2] Confirmed 2025 model year range figures per Natural Resources Canada.