BMW CEO: US i3 Sales to be a “Couple Thousand” in 2014

[RobStark]

"That’s according to BMW North America CEO Ludwig Willisch who told Bloomberg that BMW expects to sell a “couple thousand” i3s in the US this year."

http://insideevs.com/bmw-ceo-us-i3-sales-to-be-a-couple-thousand-in-2014/


This has the stench of a compliance car.

 

[hileyms]

A guy from BMW Germany -Harald Krueger told Bloomberg that they had had 11,000 orders (not sure if Germany only) and that they would what actual demand was before seeming whether to introduce i5.

BMW to delay future i models until they can better anticipate demand - report

 

[sranger]

At first I though BMW was serious about EV's. I even though about getting a REx version of the i3 as I know that I need more than 80 miles of range ( but less than 150) often in my daily driving. The car was fun to drive and was surprisingly comfortable. It was much easier to get in and out of than the Model S. Even fully loaded it is about $38K less than the Model S I ordered. I even kind of like it's quirky looks.

However, now I found out that NONE of the i3 will have sun roofs for 2014 in the US. I suspect that they cannot pass the crush test with the big hole in the roof...

The weird "ECO" Knaf material they put around the dash and doors of the pre-production cars is actually going to remain and it looks HORRIBLE (I though it was a pre-production thing). It has NO business in a $40-50K car.

You cannot engage the REx until the State of Charge drops below 5%. This will case a power limited mode of operation in many cases of highway speeds and long hills. They did this to try and get a white sticker for the car pool lanes in California and it did not work. It still gets BMW more ZEV credits but offers NO benefit to the customer and actually will cause problems for the customer. The European models can engage the REx anything below 80% SOC.

The little 2.5 gal gas tank is only good for about 45-50 miles at highway speeds even if it can keep up with the demand at such a low SOC...

The reports of the Electric range in the REx version is shaping be less than 65 miles...

In short it is shaping up to be more and more of a compliance car....

 

[lolachampcar]

I checked with my bud at the local BMW dealership who said they have built out a portion of their showroom for them and expect them in three months (in Florida).

 

[yobigd20]

You cannot engage the REx until the State of Charge drops below 5%. This will case a power limited mode of operation in many cases of highway speeds and long hills. They did this to try and get a white sticker for the car pool lanes in California and it did not work. It still gets BMW more ZEV credits but offers NO benefit to the customer and actually will cause problems for the customer. The European models can engage the REx anything below 80% SOC.

WOW. That is going to be a HUGE problem for them. This is VERY unsafe and outright dangerous on highways. I read about this in this review First Review In: 2014 BMW i3 Range Extender Performance Limited and BMW told him that he should have engaged the REX when the battery dropped below 50%. But the US models won't allow this until below 5%? I can't seriously see this working for them at all. I think they'll have to chance this once they start causing accidents on major highways because they are limited to going 30mph when everyone else is PO'd and screaming around you at 70mph. This car is a joke of a project. Only fuels my distaste for BMW.

The reports of the Electric range in the REx version is shaping be less than 65 miles...

I've been starting to see dozens of posts from Honda Fit EV owners having problems in cold weather. They're range is dropping below 30 miles, with some as low as 20. That's a 60-70% range loss...and doesn't seem to be isolated to a few owners. sorry Honda but I think your Fit is another crappy EV, along with the BMW i3. But I guess they have to start somewhere and learn from their mistakes...

In short it is shaping up to be more and more of a compliance car....

That's what I've been telling everyone since day 1.

 

[qwk]

That's what I've been telling everyone since day 1.

Most people don't listen to reasonable words, nor do they learn from history.
The existing automakers haven't made EV's for 100 years(or ever), and all of a sudden they are going to make awesome ones that people want to buy? Sounds like a fairytale, because it is.

 

[strider]

I checked with my bud at the local BMW dealership who said they have built out a portion of their showroom for them and expect them in three months (in Florida).

I received an invite to test drive one in mid-February. Can't decide if it's worth taking the time off work.

 

[Vger]

Most people don't listen to reasonable words, nor do they learn from history.
The existing automakers haven't made EV's for 100 years(or ever), and all of a sudden they are going to make awesome ones that people want to buy? Sounds like a fairytale, because it is.

In the business I founded, we were competing with GE, Siemens and Philips in medical imaging software. It took them about 10 years to partially catch up to us. I have seen this movie before. :wink:

 

[TonyWilliams]

I received an invite to test drive one in mid-February. Can't decide if it's worth taking the time off work.

You better hurry, because BMW has "100,000 orders" for the "first premium production EV" that optionally burns gasoline!!!

If you don't get the oil engine option, you have a car with few advantages over a 2011 Nissan LEAF, and several disadvantages. If you pay extra for the optional Frankenplug, good luck finding those 5 charging stations in California, because if you do find some of them, they probably won't work.

This car seemed to have such possibilities (outside of the endless hype and endless comparisons to Tesla that rarely applied). A clean piece of paper design, advanced materials, BMW mindset, et al. They could have built a shorter range Tesla Model E and signed up with a Tesla for "niche" Supercharger access. It could have looked awesome. I just don't get it.

So far, it's a very expensive CARB compliance car; actually, the MOST expensive one at $55k loaded (Rav4 EV is second at $51k, but has almost double the real world highway range of i3).

 

[Shumdit]

I was really hoping this would be a great seller for them. If a company like BMW can successfully market and sell a BEV I would consider that a win for the industry since it would expose more people to their benefits and legitimize the BEV segment even further.