BMW announced today that the i3 will cost from 34,950 euros for the base model in Germany, £25,680 after incentives in the UK and from $41,350 before incentives in the US.
The i3 will be unveiled on July 29 in London, New York and Beijing and will go on sale in November in Europe. It will arrive in U.S. showrooms in the second quarter of 2014. According to reports, BMW is also apparently in talks with the Indian government about introducing the i3 there as well.
BMW is targeting' second-car buyers in urban regions in the world's main auto markets'. Although no sales target has been announced, BMW expects to be "a significant player" in the market for electric vehicles which has been pegged at about 150,000 cars worldwide in 2012. Tesla expects to sell around 21,000 Model S, with most of the other sales coming from Nissan and Renault.
BMW reckon that for those living in metropolitan areas, an electric car with a range of 150km (93 miles) which needs to be charged 2-3 times per week is a vehicle 'that meets people's needs completely'. As a safeguard, the i3 comes as part of a mobility package that includes the loan of a petrol car for holiday driving.
The i3 is claimed to be the world's first premium car designed from the ground up to be powered by an electric drive system. The car uses the industry's first mass produced carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) passenger cell mounted on an aluminium chassis. It weighs 1195kg (2634 pounds), 300kg less than other electric cars of the same size.
The i3 has a maximum range of 200km (124 miles) driven in power-saving mode and 160km (100km) in what BMW calls "comfort" mode. A variant with a two-cylinder, 650cc gasoline engine to extend the i3's range to 300km is also planned. The range-extended version will cost nearly 4,000 euros more than the regular EV, BMW sources say.
BMW has invested 600 million euros in production facilities for the car, including installing annual capacity of 40,000 units at its Leipzig, Germany, plant, and building a new factory in the United States at Moses Lake, Washington, that makes carbon fibre for the passenger cell.
BMW will offer additional services such as at-home charging stations and car sharing to ease concerns about the limited range of the vehicle. The company will sell the i3 through the Internet, sales people that visit customers in their homes and through select dealers.
BMW created a separate "i" sub-brand to market electric vehicles and is counting on the i3 and the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, due to hit dealerships early next year, to give it an edge in innovation, a key attribute for premium auto manufacturers.
