# BMW i3 50 xDrive spent 2 h 45 min charging over 5,886.7 km from North Cape to Tarifa

- Published: 2026-11-12 05:41 UTC
- Section: Power & Energy › Cars
- Tags: BMW i3 50 xDrive, Paneuropeana record, charging time record, North Cape to Tarifa, 800-volt architecture, 400 kW DC charging, BMW Gen6 battery, NMC and LFP cells, BMW eDrive sixth generation
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-458ad54f889f249051e5d8c8_bmw_i3_50/

**In the Paneuropeana run through eight countries, BMW's production-spec i3 charged for 2 h 45 min 54 s in total, at an average of 275 kW, according to BMW.**

![BMW i3 50 xDrive spent 2 h 45 min charging over 5,886.7 km from North Cape to Tarifa](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/5dcc26b4cd949dff.webp)
*electrive.net*

BMW reported that its new i3 50 xDrive covered 5,886.7 km from North Cape in Norway to Tarifa in Spain with a total charging time of 2 hours, 45 minutes and 54 seconds, electrive.net writes [1]. The Paneuropeana route passed through eight countries [1]. The aim was not the shortest driving time but the lowest charging time between set checkpoints [1].

The team chose the public fast-charging points itself and tuned the route to charging infrastructure, weather and traffic. Charging en route was done only at publicly accessible chargers [1]. BMW states an average charging power of 275 kW over the whole trip and says the i3 beat the previous Paneuropeana record from 2017 by more than seven hours [1].

## Run figures

Pure driving time was 3 days, 2 hours and 41 minutes, at an average speed of 79.7 km/h [1]. According to BMW, average consumption was 12.5 kWh/100 km, below the official combined WLTP figure of 13.4 to 18 kWh/100 km for the i3 50 xDrive [1]. BMW also says the cars matched the orderable series specification in hardware and software [1]. A second i3 and an iX3 50 xDrive accompanied the record car [1].

## Drivetrain and battery

The i3 uses the sixth generation of BMW eDrive with an 800-volt architecture and round cells. Maximum DC charging power is 400 kW, and under optimal conditions up to 423 km of WLTP range can be added in ten minutes [1]. Two electric motors, one per axle, deliver 345 kW (469 PS) and 645 Nm. The car accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds and reaches 200 km/h [1].

Usable battery capacity is 108.7 kWh, with a WLTP range of up to 912 km, using the NMC variant of the Gen6 battery [1]. BMW CEO Milan Nedeljković confirmed that LFP cells will also be used in selected Neue Klasse models, for example the iX3 30L developed for China. BMW does not plan a general switch to LFP [1].

BMW attributes efficiency to a drag coefficient of 0.21 and low-rolling-resistance tires. It says energy losses of the Gen6 motors fell by 40 percent against the previous generation, and the volumetric energy density of the round cells rose by 20 percent over Gen5 prismatic cells [1]. More than 95 percent of braking events are handled through the electric motors by the central computer "Heart of Joy", according to BMW [1]. The i3 is built at the BMW plant in Munich [1].

## Sources

1. [electrive.net](https://www.electrive.net/2026/11/11/bmw-i3-nordkap-tarifa-ladezeit)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-458ad54f889f249051e5d8c8_bmw_i3_50/