BMW CEO - i3 Will Continue to Be Built

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Interesting new article with interview of new BMW CEO.

https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/elektroauto/bmw-i3-weitergebaut-2019/?fbclid=IwAR1fI0Ux9-iihZk-gEKrzqsffCbSvDGSy3g93ugKVNaoGKY1o4L0ecVkEyI

...and the very rough translation.

UPDATE The new BMW CEO Oliver Zipse is in the reorganization of the gas. He continues to build the i3 - a clear signal of where the Bavarians are going. And: In refreshed form, the i3 should be technologically superior to the new VW ID.3.
BMW's electric car i3 was ahead of its time at its 2013 production start. But especially the groundbreaking lightweight construction and the new platform with the use of much carbon made the small car in production expensive. Therefore, there have been rumors lately, BMW can stop the i3.

The now meets the new BMW CEO Oliver Zipse. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (F.A.S.) he emphasized that the i3 is already an icon. This is rare in a just six-year-old car. And because icons tick according to a different logic, they also get no successor in the classical sense. The i3 will continue to be built and again make a leap in terms of battery and operating concept. Even the new VW ID.3 will be technologically inferior to the i3, Zipse predicts.

This year, the i3 has increased its sales in Europe by 20 percent - you grow with the electric car every year. The investments have long been written off, now you earn money. Since BMW still sees potential in the i3, you do not give it up.

Last facelift was 2018
Modeling an electric car does not necessarily mean more power; Reach is a much more important issue. BMW now latches the i3 for the second time: The lithium-ion battery in the vehicle floor grows from 94 Ah (Ah) to 120 Ah. Compared to the original i3 doubles the capacity. In kilowatt hours of the battery has now gained 42.2 kWh compared to the 2013 presented original model just under 20 kWh.

Incidentally, the weight remains the same, and the performance does not change: in 7.3 seconds, the i3 accelerates from zero to 100 km / h. The with 184 hp to 17 hp stronger S model sprints in 6.9 seconds from a stand on country road speed. However, the range increases to 359 kilometers in the NEDC and 310 kilometers to WLTP. In everyday life, a full battery should last for 260 kilometers, according to BMW. The predecessor with 94 Ah comes 200 kilometers. Important for the i3 architecture: The dimensions of the battery do not change. Theoretically, a battery replacement might be possible, the previous update from 60 to 94 Ah BMW had also offered this opportunity. However, only ten customers installed the larger battery, so this option is no longer available for the current battery update. In Europe, the range extender (REX) will no longer exist, most recently, a quarter of European customers has the gasoline engine there. In the US, the proportion is 70 percent, here it will continue to give the i3 REX.

 
With the standard cable, the i3 on the 2.4 kW household socket charges its battery 80 percent in 15 hours. At the wallbox takes an 80-percent charge with 11 kW 3.2 hours. With 50 kW DC, the battery is charged to 80 percent in 42 minutes.

New colors and a sports package
In addition to the battery, the equipment gets an update: The LED headlamps light up adaptive and with matrix high beam, the iDrive Business gets a new menu structure with tiles and smartphones charge wirelessly. Who wants to visually bring the i3 to the state of the S version, can do this with the new sports package, which includes black wheel arches widening with wider track, 20-inch alloy wheels and a sports suspension.

BMW i3s, exterior
Testing
BMW I3S IN TEST
Sporty electric car from Bavaria
read more
Prices and premiere
The prices remain the same. For the i3 BMW currently requires 37,550 euros, the i3S stands with 41,150 euros in the price list. The new sports package for the i3 costs 1,400 euros. The production starts on November 1st, the modified i3 and i3S will premiere during the Paris Motor Show, which starts on October 2nd.

S
 
Here's a well-written piece from 10/20/19 by Tom Moloughney. Great news!

https://insideevs.com/news/377435/bmw-i3-production-will-continue/

“We are growing with the i3 every year – in Europe this year by around 20 per cent. The investments have been written off, we earn money with every i3. Why in God’s name should we give up this car, which is now at the height of its time? We are sure that the i3 still has great potential,” says the BMW CEO.

If you need further proof of the i3's staying power, on October 18th, the official BMW i page on Facebook posted "The journey did not come to its end. Officially confirmed by BMW CEO, Oliver Zipse, BMW i3 production will continue in the future." There you have it.
 
For all us owners - i hope this new guy at BMW is not just telling us all what we want to hear. BMW has a track record of not being honest, such as when they advertised the I8 would get 36 miles of range and we only got 12-18 miles.

I think what will save the I3 is the fact people are now seriously looking at electric cars, and the I3 fill a lot of blanks for owners. Where the older I3's limited mileage made it a good choice for in town use, the new 120 pack has now made the I3 a good choice for rural areas like where I live. I'm 70 miles north of Atlanta so now a 140 mile round trip is possible.

Regards Mike
 
Idleup said:
i hope this new guy at BMW is not just telling us all what we want to hear. BMW has a track record of not being honest...

...I think what will save the I3 is the fact people are now seriously looking at electric cars, and the I3 fill a lot of blanks for owners.

The i3's fate will come down to whether buyers continue to show interest in it when faced with ever-increasing EV competition.

We know it's a profitable vehicle for BMW to produce in relatively limited quantities. But despite i3's advanced technology, will buyers overlook its shortcomings?

A corollary to that is whether the space and resources used to make the i3 can be put to better use (i.e. more profitable) by producing something else.
 
I'll be completely honest, I see the i3 as having 4 big shortcomings that today can be overlooked or worked around, but not in the near future as EVs are about to flood the market.

1 - it's an ugly car. Sorry, but it is. I'm willing to accept that some people like the way it looks, but in the grand scheme I'm betting it's looks have driven away more potential customers than it brought in.

2 - kinda sorta related, the tire/wheel combo is goofy. Say what you want about how it handles just fine and how lower rolling resistance improves range and throw out formulas and stats on how width doesn't matter because the contact patch is all about psi and total weight.... They look wrong (where it relates back to issue 1). The weirdo size makes for VERY limited wheel and tire options. I believe a wider tire would improve handling and ride quality.

3 - The obvious one is range. The 2020 i3 is ~100 miles less than the competition, with some of the competition considerably more. Justify it all you want, call it a city car, say it's fine for 95% of people's daily commute, call it a given that someone with an EV has an ICE vehicle for trips, or 100 other things. If you claim these things, you are probably right. However, when it comes down to it everyone has their own line in the sand when it comes to range, recharge time and charge station locations. That doesn't mean it matches the reality of their needs, but it does match the reality of what they would purchase. People are going to ask why a $50k i3 only have a 153 mile range when the fairly similar Chevy Bolt has 258 (or whatever it is).

4 - Finally, limited tech. EVs are supposed to be a step forward, have all the latest bells and whistles. Things that should be standard: radar or lidar adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, Android Auto/Apple Carplay, backup camera, blind spot detection.. Just no excuse at this price point for BMW not to have included all these from the start (except Android Auto/Apple Carplay, those should have been standard starting in '16 or '17). It's also annoying to know the EU versions have a traffic jam assist option that the US doesn't (I'm aware of how to enable it).


What it really comes down to is how the car stacks up against it's competition. For some it's the perfect car. For people like me it's RWD + REX + abysmal resale value driving the used car prices way down. For a lot of other people the i3 just doesn't cut it. IMHO, if they are going to keep it alive they should redesign it, make the gen 2 compete on paper with it's competition while keeping the advantages it does have.
 
skeptic said:
... if they are going to keep it alive they should redesign it, make the gen 2 compete on paper with it's competition while keeping the advantages it does have.

I believe this is the crux of the subject of this post:

The i3 is a nonscalable design. If BMW is going to dump cash into development, it's going to be spent on a platform that they can produce in quantity and that will appeal to more buyers. Automatically, any sort of CFRP on aluminum sled disappears, at least at this lower end of their model lineup (thinking a 3-series EV as the i3's competition / replacement).

I agree with your point particularly about the included tech. BMW could fix that without much effort (displays, radar, BLIS, lane assist, auto seats). They NEED to fix the connectivity options since that's a shared platform with all kinds of pieces and it'll be expected on any EV they sell -- Tesla's set that bar, and others are following suit. But the basic underlying i3 structure isn't going to evolve (BTW I happen to like the appearance), and that goes hand-in-hand with your tire comment, which I fully agree with.

Perhaps they don't want to add much iterative value to it (i.e. tech upgrades) because they realize it's already non-competitively priced and can't afford to make it more expensive, or because it'll strip profit from the production, OR because they want it to be purposely non-competitive to whatever is on their EV drawing board. That means it remains a relatively bare bones "city car."

So I believe that's where BMW's loyalty to the i3's platform lies -- it's a dormant design, and they'll walk it as far as it'll walk.
 
eNate said:
So I believe that's where BMW's loyalty to the i3's platform lies -- it's a dormant design, and they'll walk it as far as it'll walk.

I'd bet you are right, but just for fun this is my uneducated and nearly baseless thoughts on how I think they could do a gen 2 for the masses.

Give up on carbon fiber and go aluminum. This would make some i3 fans unhappy, or cringe at the thought. A compromise to be sure, but cost and mass produce-ability (is that a word?) would be much better.

Stretch it 6" to 1' longer. Not much I know, but it would do three things. 1) added cargo space for those that need it or just want to compete on paper. 2) A bit more room for batteries. Ok, not much extra room, but every bit helps. 3) improve appearance. Completely subjective of course, but the i3 looks just a bit too squished. Not Smart car bad, but dimensions look a touch goofy. Bonus) A bit longer wheelbase might actually improve ride quality. Bonus 2) I kinda like the suicide doors, but another foot longer and normal rear doors start to make more sense.

All the other things mentioned in above posts. Wider "normal" size tires and a bit longer body plus maybe some minimal exterior redesign could really improve the exterior looks. Make standard all those high-tech things one would expect in a luxury EV. Get the range up to 250+ miles. Other than the small base nav/infotainment screen I have no complaints on the interior. No need to lower the price, current pricing seems reasonable for a well equipped luxury EV.
 
but just for fun this is my uneducated and nearly baseless thoughts on how I think they could do a gen 2 for the masses.

I had same thoughts. :D

Unfortunately, I think BMW's idea of a 'Gen 2 for the masses' is the Mini Cooper EV (which, after owning a Mini, would be the last EV on the planet I'd ever consider buying).

I really think they don't want to 'sully' the BMW lux brand with an EV for the masses. Not the BMW demographic.
 
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