BMW i3 EV to be priced at BMW 3-Series level?

BMW-i3-2

This is pretty interesting news – BMW’s North American CEO Ludwig Willisch has indicated that the BMW i3 electric car will be priced around the price of a ‘well equipped’ BMW 3-Series, although an official price will only be set in stone closer to the launch date by the end of 2013.

What ‘well equipped’ actually means is anyone’s guess. In Malaysia, the 328i goes for close to RM300k while the ActiveHybrid 3 with 50% duty exemption goes for just under RM400k. Let’s say we take the 328i price and remove the duties – could we be looking at an RM200k price equivalent?

There will be two versions of the BMW i3, and price above is for the pure EV version. For those who still have doubts on whether an EV’s range would satisfy their requirements. BMW will also offer a higher priced version with a range extender, which will use a 650cc petrol motorcycle engine to power an auxiliary electricity generator.

Currently there is only one EV on sale in Malaysia – the Mitsubishi i-MIEV. ETCM has brought in the Nissan Leaf and seem to be building an EV charging infrastructure but the Leaf itself is not available for purchase and is only used during promotional activities. We’ve also sighted the Renault Fluence EV.

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • banyak sedih on May 07, 2013 at 12:04 am

    been a long time since i saw paul tan making so many posts. nice!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 0
  • frenzyaustin on May 07, 2013 at 1:06 am

    Pure EV, future of automobile. BMW, never failed engineering team, I expecting high on you.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Thethinkingman on May 07, 2013 at 4:11 pm

    Same as 3- Series level? Seriously, with that face? Well, good luck with that

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 2
  • drive it to believe it.. Driving an electric car is totally different from a conventional one. Even the pedal feeling is different. One have to get to use driving an EV car before getting the hang on it.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Jameson Bates on May 09, 2013 at 10:56 pm

    Even with the uncertainty about the price, I think this car is likely to do well. BMW always makes a quality product and EV cars are growing in popularity.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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