i3 [Official] The BMW i3 Official Thread

[braaf]

I expected the i3 range to be allot better than the competition, considering that it's much lighter. Then again the Nissan and Renault don't have the performance to match. To all the engineering buffs, are the batteries different in each of these cars with regards to kw/h (I think that's how it's measured it).

 

[EnI]

I expected the i3 range to be allot better than the competition, considering that it's much lighter. Then again the Nissan and Renault don't have the performance to match. To all the engineering buffs, are the batteries different in each of these cars with regards to kw/h (I think that's how it's measured it).

Nominal battery capacity :

i3: 18,8 kWh
Zoe: 22 kWh
Leaf: 24 kWh

Interesting test. i3 has the biggest range 158km - despite having the smallest battery, and not even the least power consumption. Meaning: the weight does matter. To the range & to the performance. Or/and BMW offers much superior on-board power management.

Zoe's power consumption is the best due to worst performance, I guess.

 

[braaf]

Nominal battery capacity :

i3: 18,8 kWh
Zoe: 22 kWh
Leaf: 24 kWh

Interesting test. i3 has the biggest range 158km - despite having the smallest battery, and not even the least power consumption. Meaning: the weight does matter. To the range & to the performance. Or/and BMW offers much superior on-board power management.

Zoe's power consumption is the best due to worst performance, I guess.

Thanks Eni. That answered my question. I thought it strange the i3 had only marginally better range than the others and thought it would be down to the battery size.

 

[dalab]

Groundbreaking EV in such high demand, BMW struggling to keep up with demand for demonstrations

The BMW i3 electric car is in huge demand with over 10,000 orders already taken around the world. But the demand from potential customers wanting test drives is even bigger, with over 100,000 registered for i3 test drives.

Speaking to Auto Express, BMW Board Member for Sales and Marketing, Ian Robertson, said: “We have waiting lists into months for test drives. These cars need to be charged between each test, which takes some time. Dealers are working hard to satisfy the demand.”

In the UK there are 6,500 on the i3 test drive waiting list, with 1,500 of those having an appointment confirmed. Since the i3’s launch on November 16, nearly 1000 people have taken test drives at the rate of around 300 per week across the 47 BMW dealers selling i3s. At that rate it could be five months before someone putting their name down today will get to drive the car.

BMW is hoping to get more people through the test drives as soon as possible, but then they’ll have to wait at least six months before they can take delivery of an i3. A BMW spokesperson told us: “Order the range extender version today and delivery could be in June next year. It’ll be a little bit longer for a full EV with delivery probably next October.”

Ian Robertson provided more bad news for anyone hoping to buy BMW’s new £100,000 i8 electric supercar – the wait will stretch into 2015. The lightweight model uses a combination of a 1.5-litre petrol engine and electric motors to get from 0-62mph in just 4.4 seconds, yet return average economy figures of 113mpg and CO2 output of just 59g/km. But Robertson said, “We have advanced i8 orders for the whole of 2014 production.”

Read more: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/bmw/i3/84776/bmw-i3-waiting-list-five-months-a-test-drive#ixzz2mWD1MVab

 

[EnI]

Thanks Eni. That answered my question. I thought it strange the i3 had only marginally better range than the others and thought it would be down to the battery size.

From the AutoBild's test:

• Leaf (45cm longer than i3) is the roomiest (especially the rear seat row), while Zoe has the least room (despite being 9cm longer than i3).
  
• i3 offers the best interior materials and fit&finish (much much better than Leaf & Zoe).
• i3 offers best acceleration in all ranges due the most powerful engine. Eg. 0-100kmh: i3 (170HP) 7.1s, Leaf (109HP) 11.3s, Zoe (88HP) 12.8s
• Range / mileage with full battery: i3 (18.8kWh) 158km, Leaf (24kWh) 157km, Zoe (22kWh) 142km; all in the most eco mode @ +6 degrees Celsius air temperature outside.
• i3 is the lightest @ 1239kg, Zoe 1465kg, Leaf 1509kg.
• i3 offers best agility, best handling, best driving comfort, best braking, best traction (despite narrow i3 155/19 tires vs 195/16 on Zoe & 205/16 on Leaf.)
  
• i3 is the most expensive yet offers more standard features. i3 @ €35k vs Leaf @ €30k vs Zoe @ €22k (without batteries which the owners have to lease separately!)
• Scores (costs excl.): i3 399, Leaf 361, Zoe 360
• Total scores (costs incl.): i3 458, Zoe 424, Leaf 416

 

[EnI]

So, despite featuring the weakest battery & the most powerful engine (and thus offering best performance) i3 still manages to achieve best range / mileage.
And that's the advantage of lightweight construction (alu chassis, CFRP body, thermoplastic body panels).
Also BMW's on-board power management is a great one too, I guess.

 

[Rainer271]

Tesla Chief Designer says the BMW i3 is like a piece of IKEA furniture

Electrifying revelations
Tesla must be feeling the pressure from theBMW i3 as the company's chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, has likened the model to a piece of IKEA furniture.

Speaking to Autobild, von Holzhausen said he considers the i3 "the myth of the Ultimate Driving Machine" as he isn't sure that it meets the "basic standards of the brand." While he did compliment the modern interior, he said the car looks a "bit strange and unconventional" which is unnecessary because the proportions and electric powertrain are unique enough. In particular, his IKEA swipe is noteworthy because Tesla has previously said they prefer "buying low cost desks from IKEA, rather than spending large sums of money on architectural and interior design."

Besides talking about the i3, von Holzhausen said the company is putting the finishing touches on the Model X and has started work on their entry-level sedan. Speaking of the latter, the designer said the car won't look like a smaller Model S because we "do not want a unit face like Audi."

Source: Autobild

 

[LaArtist]

^agreed

 

[SCOTT27]

I agree in its execution of simplicity and minimalism in both interior and exterior , but there is no other car on the market which actually looks from another decade or fulfils the purpose of a MEGACITY vehicle.
Let's not detract from what the i3 is. It is purely for urban environments and especially not for long distance drives, and the i3 is not a Tesla rival in any other way that is electrified.

Reading about drives that take the i3 out of its comfort zone kinds of defeats the whole purpose of the i3.
It's not meant for that purpose.
Whilst I was in Japan , BMW have a specialised showroom in the Roppongi district of Tokyo. And out on the streets of Japan with an i3 there was never any other car that suits that neon-lit futuristic MegaCity environment , same goes for Hong Kong and Shanghai.

The i8 will fit in very well.

 

[braaf]

^agreed

Disagreed. It's almost as if Tesla is running scared, so now they have to resort to name calling to detract from all the positive attention the I3 is getting.

 

[Sunny]

I actually kind of agree with the Ikea analogy, except I don't think it is a put down the way Tesla meant it to be. If BMW can do to electric cars with i3 what Ikea did to modern furniture I don't think they will mind it either.

Hopefully, next up, assemble your self car kits (but without the kit car quality connotations). With electric cars being mechanically so simple, why not.

 

[Beemer B773ER]

Hopefully, next up, assemble your self car kits (but without the kit car quality connotations). With electric cars being mechanically so simple, why not.

Can I save some extra money and choose Ship-to-Store/Dealer ?

Unless they offer a coupon code for "Free Shipping with every purchase over $45,000".

 

[EnI]

THIS (link) can be a HUGE blow up in BMW AG's face! Ouch! Especially since REx has been designed as such (tiny ICE + tiney fuel tank + limited range via REx) to meet the Californian legislation, so to be eligible for a White sticker. And now this change of heart by Californian authorities ... Ouch! It makes the i3 REx a crippled option with it's tiny tank & limited REx range. I wonder what BMW will do. Trying to convince the Californian authorities to change the regulation back to planned one, or eg. putting a larger fuel tank into i3 REx & doubling the REx range. We shall see ... But certainly not a good news for BMW.

 

[SCOTT27]

We shall see ... But certainly not a good news for BMW.

The matter is currently being resolved.

 

[EnI]

 

[marley71]

"Why the sudden and dramatic about face for California, is unknown. This issue will obviously not apply to the other states in the country, but California is seen as one of BMW’s biggest markets." I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Tesla is an American, and more specifically a Californian company. God forbid they should try to protect this prize jewel so that they can reap the benefits from its inflated price at its eventual sale.

This is one of the things that has me on the fence of electric vehicles. Legislative risk. In finance it's one of the most manipulated risks, but to watch it complicate engineering decisions is saddening.

 

[SCOTT27]

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[Mars1965]

I've read at "Bimmertoday" that the navigation "professional" is no longer standard, but as of 2014 is optional.

 

[SCOTT27]

High Demand for the BMW i3

Pia Krix and Guido Reinking
Automobilwoche
January 31, 2014 06:01 CET
MUNICH -- BMW i3 buyers face a six-month wait to receive the electric car because of high demand.

Sales of the battery powered i3 compact model started in Europe in November. Sales will begin in the United States in May.

BMW sales chief, Ian Robertson, says the company has received about 11,000 orders globally for the i3. In the United States, BMW has already taken 1,200 orders for the car, Robertson said.

The car will go on sale in Asian markets including China and Japan by the middle of the year.

About 80 percent of i3 sales were to customers from other brands or to people who hadn't owned cars previously, Robertson told Automobilwoche, a sister publication of Automotive News Europe.

Burkhard Weller, from the German dealership Wellergruppe said i3 sales are better than expected. He said he had sold 30 of the cars at his Hamburg showroom since the start of sales on November 16.

"The i3 is going fantastically well,'' Werner Entenmann from another German dealership, Autohaus Entenmann, in Esslingen, told Automobilwoche, adding that his three test vehicles were completely booked out.

In October, BMW Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner said strong demand for the car could lead the automaker to increase production in Leipzig, Germany, where i3 output this year is likely to top 10,000 vehicles.

The next model from the i subbrand is the i8 plug-in hybrid supercar, which will arrive in European showrooms in the spring.

No third model planned

On Tuesday, BMW production chief, Harald Krueger, said the automaker will not add a third model to the i range until it has a better idea of demand. BMW has trademarked the series through to number i9, hinting at the extent of its ambition, but Krueger said it currently has no plans to add to the lineup.

Automotive News Europe

 

[mini_cooper4]

Wasn't the goal 40k per year?