In its official podcast called Changing Lanes, BMW explains what the cars are called.
The old, simple days when the numbers in the middle represented engine displacement are largely gone, and the example cited by BMW is the 745Le-7 still applies to a series of models, in this case the 7 Series, with odd numbers to denote conventional models, while steam usually reserved for sports coupes.
After the first digit, it becomes really interesting because the digits in the middle, 45 in this case, do not represent the engine volume, since the 745e does not run a 4.5-liter unit. Instead, BMW models are ranked by power in kilowatts, and vehicles from 300 to 350 kilowatts fall into category 45, writes HAK magazine.
This might sound confusing, but BMW argues that it was necessary given how diverse powertrains are today, with plenty of available petrol, diesel, mild hybrids and plug-in hybrid configurations. The last word should not be a mystery because it is a plug-in hybrid, similar to what it means cars with gasoline injection, ad for diesels. Pictured is the 745Le version, and L means Lang or an extended version of the sedan.
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