The BMW Group debuted their new BMW i3 during the week. It’s an innovative electric vehicle which BMW’s Chairman, Norbert Reithofer, says “is more than just a car”.
“It's a revolutionary step towards sustainable mobility. It is purpose-built around an electric power train to serve the needs of our megacity customers," said Mr Reithofer at the world premiere in New York on Monday. The BMWi3 was also simultaneously unveiled in Beijing and London.
The car is BMW’s first pure electric series-produced model. It has the same sporting genes as every BMW with sustainability the priority.
The vehicle achieves a range of 130 to 160 kilometres which BMW says tests show is quite sufficient for the vast majority of drivers. The average distance driven daily worldwide is no more than 64 kilometres. However, for those drivers who drive further, there is an option for a range extender which maintains the charge of the lithium-ion battery at a constant level en route, as soon as it falls below a specified value. The range extender increases the vehicle’s maximum range in day-to-day driving to around 300 kilometres.
The BMW i3 features a large number of technological innovations such as a carbon-fibre passenger cell and a chassis made of aluminium, and sets new standards in the field of lightweight construction. It is lighter than most vehicles in the compact segment, yet offers significantly more space for up to four occupants and BMW says it is the perfect vehicle for a small family living in a city.
The vehicle's running costs are estimated to be comparatively low: over a period of three years, the maintenance and running costs for a BMW i3 are about 40% lower than those of a BMW320.
The car will be released in Germany and other European countries in November; in the USA, China and Japan and some other markets in early 2014. While BMW would not confirm, it is understood that this includes Australia. It is expected to sell for around 34,950 Euros (approximately AUD$51,300) with the range-extended version to cost 39,950 Euros ($59,700). Mr Reithofer says he expects demand to be high, with 90,000 requests for a test drive received worldwide before the car was launched.
The global market for electric vehicles is gradually increasing. After almost 93,000 electric vehicles were registered worldwide last year, a total of 150,000 vehicles is already forecast to be registered in 2013.
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