We're alive / we're dead

I've been a long-time BMW owner and have never seen a prior model's lifespan whipsawed like what's happened with the i3.

It seems every six months the i3 has either its end in sight or is getting further development. Add in the i5, the i4, the Vision iNext... electrification of the rest of the product line... AG's CEO Harald Krueger quitting (with poor handling of EVs cited as a contributing factor)... tough to keep it all straight!

Two weeks ago R&D honcho Klaus Frohlich says there's no follow-on for either the i3 or i8:
https://www.bmwblog.com/2019/06/30/bmw-i3-and-i8-might-soon-end-vision-m-next-will-be-fast-and-furious/

Then just yesterday, InsideEVs quotes i Division head, Robert Irlinger:
https://insideevs.com/news/359632/bmw-i3-will-be-further-upgraded-produced/

"There is always further potential, and we always look to the market and and whether we’ll need something – a big update or a small update. But there is more to come."

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I'm just happy to see the steadily increasing i3 sales numbers (in the article). That upward build doesn't happen with most cars.

The confusion is probably a sign of poor management, lack of a unifying vision, and even some political in-fighting at the corporate level.....

The confusion is probably a sign of poor management, lack of a unifying vision, and even some political in-fighting at the corporate level.....

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Hit the nail, I think.

And pretty much can be laid at the feet of out-going CEO Harald Krueger. The previous CEO, Norbert Reithofer is the one who championed the whole i line. The board pushed Krueger as 'the younger generation' vision and leadership for the company. Turned out that Krueger was a total dud, too conservative, and with no vision at all. Rumblings that Krueger's totally squandering BMW's industry wide lead in vehicle electrification is what helped get him the ax. Who ever the board sits in that chair now will be the key. With manufacturers like VW and Volvo betting everything on electric, and other car makers ramping up their own hybrid and full electric plans to keep up, BMW really needs to wake up.

vreihen said:

The confusion is probably a sign of poor management, lack of a unifying vision, and even some political in-fighting at the corporate level.....

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One can only imagine how frustrating it would for the employees!

i3Houston said:

One can only imagine how frustrating it would for the employees!

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I don't have to imagine. My DW is working in a situation right now where there are three levels of management all telling the staff to do different things. Most of her [millennial] co-workers are standing around their cubicles doing absolutely nothing all day, since one manager or another has told them *not* to do every single task they are employed to do.

The irony would be if they replaced the staff with AI...and it started tossing the managers out of the pod bay door due to conflicting instructions.....

The irony would be if they replaced the staff with AI...and it started tossing the managers out of the pod bay door due to conflicting instructions.....

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:mrgreen:

Dave: [sternly] HAL, I won't argue with you anymore. Open the doors.
HAL: [monotone voice] Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Good-bye.

Daisy, Daisy. Give me your answer do...

Remember, the attention span of a computer is only as long as its power cord.....

I look at all these stories as just so much clickbait. Am I the only one who recalls the PR from six years ago where the i. division was positioned for innovation principally? The i3 launch stories laid out a plan for the i. vehicles to commercialize new tech in low run volumes. Then the more successful aspects would be migrated to the main brand. I remember a timeline from five years ago that called for hybrids across all the main brand product lines in the next generation (where we are now) then for electric to be the primary power source with the generation after. And the i3 innovations are much more than the EV aspect. The carbon fiber core of the current 7-series being an excellent example of the tech spread. The fact that i. vehicles are moving on to autonomy and other advanced tech while e-power infiltrates the mainstream series doesn’t surprise me. I got the 2014 i3 never expecting a second generation.