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BMW i3 in Australia

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I had the pleasure of viewing this vehicle in RIGHT HAND DRIVE, pre production in Australia this morning. It will be a direct competitor for the model E. Let me say that this is a very impressive car, albeit with funky looks. Yes, it is a commuter car, but BMW with its ICE package loaner for those rare occasions when one wants to travel long distance make it a compelling and realistic alternative for those of us waiting and waiting on the list (now for 3 plus years), with no store or sales staff in Australia to really give us realistic hope that the car really will be delivered here in the first half of 2014.
The car comes either in full electric or with range extender motorcycle 650cc engine, which gives it an extra 100 km (60miles) of range. Range with battery only is 130 - 160 km and with range extender quoted as 240 to 300 km.
Tesla really need to come forward with pricing for this market, since if they come in at say $150000 to $160000, they are going to lose sales, that to me included.
Yes, i know the advantages of the Tesla only too well. I have been to the factory in 2011 and had the test ride then, and have been assiduously following the forums ever since. A startup company in Australia is different to the USA especially since the factory is there. BMW has the advantage of gravitas.
In truth, the model S is probably too large a vehicle for my needs now, but i am sold on the electric vehicle concept. The Volt does not appeal, mainly because it is a GM product, and i have had bad experiences with GM products previously. The BMW is chock full of technology with a GPS that works, nice interface, but overall, quite compact. It also has automatic parking, rear view camera and front parking sensors. It is very kitschy with about 6 different colours in the cabin alone and two or thee tone on the outside, but if one goes for dull and boring (read black or grey) that aspect can be seriously toned down. The car had build quality issues, but it WAS a preproduction model, and these build quality issues will definitely be fixed in the production version.
Overall impression? I was impressed!
 
Industry standard ports, compatible with the Leaf for example.

Great review, Dborn, thanks!

In HK we are waiting for the RHD model as well, and I feel very close to the way you post it: I don't need the huge space either (although nice to have), and I am not sure how I can afford it (but I want that car so much I have decided I WILL afford it!).

It's mainly that to have an electric car, fully electric not some mix of ICE with a bolted on electric motor. One of the great things about a fully electric car is all the maintenance you DON'T need. I never ever understood parallel hybrids like the Toyota Prius. I tried it as a rental for a few days many years ago, and it was nice to drive - I just don't want to pay the maintenance on it, and cannot see the point of it - it still uses combustibles, just a little less than the average ICE.

In Hong Kong a car like the BMW i3 would fit perfectly for many, as the distances are limited. I'd say, with the i3, you could take the seat belts out the windows and put it on like a backpack - no need for parking then.

It's all about price, so if I have to back down from Tesla model S, it has to be because it is a LOT cheaper. I wouldn't buy the i3 unless it was less than a third of the price of a Tesla model S. The Nissan Leaf has been sold in HK for years now, but it's just too expensive for such a small car, with so short range. To me it seems Nissan is milking the HK market by a WAY too high price, considering there is NO registration or sales tax on electric cars in HK, whatsoever. Maybe some fee for paperwork, but not the usual ICE tax (called FRT in Hong Kong).
 
Resurrecting a bit of an old thread but hey - it's quiet here on this part of the forum :)

How's this for an email reply to my question about pricing and launch date for the i3 here:

Thank you for your live chat enquiry.

Pricing for the BMW i3 have not yet been released aswell as the release dates at this stage.
You are able to place an order for the i3 however you would need to do this through a BMW dealership.

To locate your nearest BMW dealership please click the link below.....
 
Resurrecting a bit of an old thread but hey - it's quiet here on this part of the forum :)

How's this for an email reply to my question about pricing and launch date for the i3 here:

Thank you for your live chat enquiry.

Pricing for the BMW i3 have not yet been released aswell as the release dates at this stage.
You are able to place an order for the i3 however you would need to do this through a BMW dealership.

To locate your nearest BMW dealership please click the link below.....
Having sat in the car when it was in Sydney (no test drives available) I would have two reservations, one is the tyres and secondly bodywork repairs. The car is actually quite interesting, the design is a bit out there which many find ugly, but it is not as bad in person as in the photos. The tyres are NOT standard - they are quite narrow, which means that you may be forced to buy from BMW at BMW prices. Repairs to body work will probably be very restricted to certain specially trained body shops, as the carbon fibre is much closer to boat repair techniques than traditional car repair. Translation: mucho dinero, (expensive). Otherwise, depending on your intended use probably not a bad option, and it will come in below the LCT threshold. They were talking $50000.00. i actually have a deposit down on the car, but that was mainly desperation with Tesla. I am expecting prices to be announced this week, and in fact there was a web site update this morning which i hoped would be it, but not so. If there is an issue getting a reservation and you seriously want the car, get in touch with me by private message, and we may be able to work something out with me passing my reservation over to you. (they were talking an allocation of 50 cars for the whole of Australia.).
 
Having sat in the car when it was in Sydney (no test drives available) I would have two reservations, one is the tyres and secondly bodywork repairs....they were talking an allocation of 50 cars for the whole of Australia.).

Hey thanks for the reply and offer. I agree with you about the tyres as it's one of the first things I thought. I just got two new tyresd for my current car and it was super easy as it uses a standard tyre - drive in and out 1/2 hour later with fresh new tyres no booking required. I reckon you'll be needing a repair kit for the i3 as stores would have to order replacements in. That said BMW wouldn't charge too much for them would they? Not if they want to promote them as a cost saving type car. Hell there's half the rubber in them.

I found this site for them in the UK - Continental CST17 155/70 R19 113M Summer Tyre: Summer Tyres Price Comparison - Prices at idealo.co.uk and they're 87 Pounds to buy which is not too bad.

As long as you have decent insurance the bodywork repairs won't hurt too much either but is certainly something to consider.

I spoke with a dealer this morning and he didn't have a lot of info other than to say if they're looking at a November release they will have to let dealers know 100% pricing and ordering options by the end of May or otherwise they won't make that delivery deadline. So in a couple of months we'll know.
 
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I forgot to update this thread to say that I test drove the BMW i3 twice in January. It's a superb car to drive and sit in, far better than the Model S in that regard, but of course it has some range and speed limitations that make any further comparisons completely superfluous. Needless to say, if I was to acquire a car purely for city driving, it would be the i3 right now.
 
I forgot to update this thread to say that I test drove the BMW i3 twice in January. It's a superb car to drive and sit in, far better than the Model S in that regard, but of course it has some range and speed limitations that make any further comparisons completely superfluous. Needless to say, if I was to acquire a car purely for city driving, it would be the i3 right now.

One right royal PITA is that the i3 only got 4 stars on the NCAP test. This means my work won't allow a lease for it :(. How could BMW allow this to happen!?
 
Australia is really quite ridiculous. Pricing for EV's over here is nuts. Is it the lack of incentives or just the price gouging manufacturers?

I say this because I hear today that the BMW i3's will be priced over here at around $72,000 for the base electric only and around $78,000 for the base range extended. Add a few options and the "standard" one's that will leave the dealerships are supposed to be going out the door for about $84,000. Nuts.

In the USA the base i3 is $41,350 or $44,700 in Aussie dollars. The Rex (range extender version) is $45,200 USD or $48,865 AUD. So we are paying $27,300 markup on the base and $29,135 on the Rex. In the UK you can pickup a base i3 for 25,680 pounds or $45,974.

@#*% you BMW for gouging us over here by selling your $40K car for $80K. If you can get a Tesla for $20K more why wouldn't you?
 
Australia is really quite ridiculous. Pricing for EV's over here is nuts. Is it the lack of incentives or just the price gouging manufacturers?

I say this because I hear today that the BMW i3's will be priced over here at around $72,000 for the base electric only and around $78,000 for the base range extended. Add a few options and the "standard" one's that will leave the dealerships are supposed to be going out the door for about $84,000. Nuts.

In the USA the base i3 is $41,350 or $44,700 in Aussie dollars. The Rex (range extender version) is $45,200 USD or $48,865 AUD. So we are paying $27,300 markup on the base and $29,135 on the Rex. In the UK you can pickup a base i3 for 25,680 pounds or $45,974.

@#*% you BMW for gouging us over here by selling your $40K car for $80K. If you can get a Tesla for $20K more why wouldn't you?

You have those prices wrong. It's $63,990 for the electric only and $69,990 for the Rex. We just priced a spec'ed up model and we will walk out the door for $75 flat, including delivery and on-road costs. I'm quite happy with that.

You can't forget that those base prices in the US have incentives built in ($7500), don't include dealership costs and unfortunately we have extra taxes (most states in the US don't have sales tax on cars or stamp duty).
 
You have those prices wrong. It's $63,990 for the electric only and $69,990 for the Rex. We just priced a spec'ed up model and we will walk out the door for $75 flat, including delivery and on-road costs. I'm quite happy with that.

You can't forget that those base prices in the US have incentives built in ($7500), don't include dealership costs and unfortunately we have extra taxes (most states in the US don't have sales tax on cars or stamp duty).

Those prices you just stated are not drive away inc GST etc. Drive away the base will be as I said. I don't know what you mean by spec'd up as the sunroof is $2,920, heated seats $510, Leather interior extra etc. Top spec will be $84,000. I'm assuming your $75,000 is base BEV with one or two options. If not can you share your spec?

- - - Updated - - -

Just to confirm: This is from the email I received from BMW:

"I am expecting drive away pricing to look as follows for the standard cars:

Full Electric = $72406.00
Range Ext = $78705.00

These are more than we were hoping for but the standard feature levels are higher as a result."
 
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Those prices you just stated are not drive away inc GST etc. Drive away the base will be as I said. I don't know what you mean by spec'd up as the sunroof is $2,000, heated seats $510, Leather interior extra etc. Top spec will be $84,000. I'm assuming your $75,000 is base BEV with one or two options. If not can you share your spec?

They are the prices including GST but not delivery (maximum $2500) and stamp duty. We optioned loft interior, metallic paint, driver assistance package, LED headlights, comfort access, and sun protection glass.

The Australian i3 does have more features as standard.
 
You got a good price given the options:

$72406.00

Comfort Access - $850.00

· Sun Protection Glazing - $660.00
· LED Headlights - $1400.00
· Driving Assistant Plus - $2200.00

From the Melbourne dealer I'd be looking at $77,516.

They come standard with Lodge interior, not sure how much loft is. We get a higher base spec here for sure, I just wish we could have got the base spec like overseas as it is still pretty nice and I'd rather pay $65K for one.
 
You got a good price given the options:

$72406.00

Comfort Access - $850.00

· Sun Protection Glazing - $660.00
· LED Headlights - $1400.00
· Driving Assistant Plus - $2200.00

From the Melbourne dealer I'd be looking at $77,516.

They come standard with Lodge interior, not sure how much loft is. We get a higher base spec here for sure, I just wish we could have got the base spec like overseas as it is still pretty nice and I'd rather pay $65K for one.

Don't forget, the price of those options that you quoted include LCT, and the car we spec'd falls underneath the threshold, hence the 2.5k difference.