In August last year, BMW Malaysia announced that the i4 would be one of three BMW i models that would form the spearhead for the company’s electrification push in the country. While the other two, the iX and iX3, have officially gone on sale, the i4 has not yet been formally introduced.
However, the car has made its first public appearance, doing so at the ongoing NEXTGen Malaysia event, signalling that its debut may not be too far away, what with series production having begun in October last year.
The example on display at the three-day symposium is an eDrive40, which is the variant previously listed on the company’s website. The car features a single motor offering 340 PS (335 hp or 240 kW) and 430 Nm, with power being sent to the rear wheels via a single-speed transmission. Performance figures include a sprint time of 5.7 seconds and an electronically-governed top speed of 190 km/h.
In terms of range, an 83.9 kWh battery (which is covered by an eight-year or 160,000 km warranty) offers up to 590 km of travel distance (WLTP cycle) on a full charge. The i4 supports up to 200 kW DC fast-charging (CCS Combo 2 connection), with a 10-minute charge providing up to 164 km of range at this rate. Meanwhile, its 11 kW integrated AC charger (Type 2 connection) will allow the battery to be charged from 0% to 100% SOC in under 8.5 hours.
Although specifications for the local variants haven’t been revealed, the configurator on the website shows that we can expect two variants, a base i4 and an M Sport version. As standard, the car comes with a BMW Curved Display, which integrates a 12.3-inch instrument display and 14.9-inch infotainment screen in a single curved unit, as well BMW Operating System 8.
Standard equipment includes BMW Live Cockpit Professional, a three-zone automatic climate control system with nanofiltration, sport leather steering wheel, acoustic windscreen glass and LED ambient lighting. As for unique interior elements, you’ll find a blue-ringed logo on the steering wheel as well as a blue accented gearshift and push-start button.
While there has been no indication of pricing, a comparison of UK and Australian pricing of the i4 eDrive40 in relation to the iX and iX3 provides an average working estimate of what we can possibly expect.
In the UK, the price of the i4 starts from £51,905 (RM297,900) for the Sport variant, while the iX3 starts from £60,970 (RM349,900) and that for the iX, from £69,905 (RM401,150). In Australia, the i4 starts from AUD99,900 (RM304,100), while that of the iX3 is from AUD114,900 (RM349,750) and the iX, from AUD135,900 (RM413,650).
Prior to their price revisions yesterday, the iX3 was launched with a RM317,360 price tag for the Inspiring variant, while the XDrive40 went for RM419,630, the latter relatively close to that of the SUV in both the above markets. With tax exemptions, the iX3 Inspiring now starts from RM307,160, while the iX is priced from RM361,430.
That the i4 should arrive under the RM300k mark is pretty much a given – with tax breaks, the CBU EV could well be priced in between the likes of the 330i M Sport (RM290,332) and 330e M Sport hybrid (RM270,968, both prices inclusive of an extended warranty and service package). Guess we’ll know soon enough.
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significant ‘hump’ in the floor of the backseat… Is this hybrid car?
This is EV car
the i4 is a Pure EV.
The hump is there because this i4 is built on existing 4-series platform. They did not design the i4 from ground up and just reuse the existing 4-series platform, it will inherent the 4-series design.
Unlike the iX which is design from scratch to be a pure EV vehicle, so it doesn’t need to accommodate the driveshaft.
Sell like hot cakes
Let me calculate, after the tax breaks and incentives…I still can’t afford it. Thanks for nothing :)
Need to be price under 270k…
280k-300k is good pricing
It 390k confirmed
confirmed 390k?
390K confirmed 100%
Nonsens its 290k
If pricing is around the estimates here, I’ll get one.
And what will the road tax be when we start paying?
When converting car from in UK and Aussie..
UK car price is inclusive of VAT of 20%
Aussie VAT is at 10%
If VAT is excluded, prices shown in RM must be even cheaper than shown
I suggest this site tone down their optimistic EV price predictions. While their Mini EV guesstimate was quite on point (RM10k disparity), their iX3 prediction was quite a bit off target with the actual price being almost RM40k higher (although both cars are from the same group)…
There is a person quoting a sales agent i4 price at around RM350 – 370k… So to say that the i4 would be priced lower than RM300k would be quite the deal, wouldn’t it?
It 390k 100,% confirmed . I was at the expo
Mini EV is a flop due to it’s low performance and low mileage.
top speed 150km/h, electric range at 232km WLTP.
BMW seem to be in the fore front to introduce EVs in Malaysia, hence you get to play the price leader as there is no competition.
BMW can choose not to pass all the tax benefits to its customers. However, it is inevitable that even high end cars will face competition when you see more players later. When more EV are launched by the end of this year, price will be definitely be a consideration, including cars brought in by parallel importers.
If BMW price their EVs without passing the tax benefits to customers who are early adopters, these early adopters may have to suffer losses later. Losses are expected and accepted by people who can effort premium cars. As competition heats up, when more premium brand start to introduce their cars in Malaysia, e.g. Tesla model 3 at a much cheaper price, if you have eventually pass the tax cut to customers who buy evs later then you will make the early adopters of your evs loss money. Consequently, you may loose their loyalty.
Right now, you are thinking that if you pass on the tax break of evs to the early adopters(your customers), it may effect the sale of your gasoline cars. Well it is inevitable. If it is just short term tax break then it will not effect the gasoline cars in the long term. If it is long term tax regime, then you will have to phase out the gasoline cars. Do not make your early adopters loss money during the transition. If it is just a short term 4-5 years tax breaks, then make your early adopters happy.
Alternatively, early adopters should be offer a special service package.
Ouch it’s now well under 400k lol a full 100k off target