BMW has been surprisingly aggressive with its plug-in vehicle considering that it's not really in the mainstream segments like Nissan and General Motors. They've done a lot of technically very interesting things with these cars with their use of carbon fiber.
While I remain skeptical of the near to mid-term commercial appeal of EVs, I'd had to see the work BMW has done go to waste.
#electricvehicles #ev #BMW
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We Hear: Electrified BMW i3, i8 in Trouble? Automaker Talking Contingency Plans – WOT on Motor Trend
BMW's electrified future may be in jeopardy, as the automaker is now discussing exit strategies. Did BMW jump the gun on electrification?
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There is some serious BS in the alleged reasons the BMW i3 and i8 are somehow not moving forward as planned. Two reasons are given why these two cars are somehow in jeopardy. Let's deal with them in turn: (1) Lack of government subsidies and (2) Not enough public charging infrastructure. First, lack of government subsidies: Seriously, has BMW been building a business plan on government subsidies? If so, their shareholders should immediately fire management, right now. If anyone thinks that subsidies to buyers of expensive electric cars will be happening for long, you need to have your head examined. Most electric cars cost $40,000 and up (yes, I know there are some exceptions, but this is BMW), and you cannot believe that poor people should be subsidizing buyers of relative luxury cars. BMW cannot ever have built a business plan on that kind of premise. Please! Second issue, infrastructure: To begin with, it's not needed for approximately 50% of people. 50% of people live in homes with garages, where there is electricity already. In particular, most people who will buy expensive cars live this way, so the addressable market for these BMWs is probably more than 50% among those who already have homes with garages. Yes, perhaps you will not sell these cars to close to 50% of people who live in apartment buildings, but so what? Getting 50% of the market from Day 1 is pretty good! The second point here is that among the 30,000 or so people who have bought electric cars so far in the U.S., most people have NEVER used a charging station so far. I would guess close to 90%. Why? Because they charge at home overnight, and that's all they need. Some others charge at work. That said, we already have around 10,000 charging stations in the U.S. right now, and will have probably over 15,000 by early 2013, and probably well over 20,000 by the time the i3 launches in October 2013. Just go to almost any parking garage right now, and you will find a couple of them. Yet, the vast majority of electric car owners thus far have never used one, because they don't need to, because they charge at home overnight, and some perhaps at the office during the day.