Wednesday 24th July 2013

BMW i3 prices confirmed

Move over M135i, there's a new BMW list price to discuss

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If an XL1 is too costly and a Leaf too worthy to fulfil your green aspirations, BMW may have the answer; an i3 will cost £25,680 when it arrives in Britain this November.

That figure is after the £5,000 Government grant for electric vehicles and is certainly a welcome surprise given the initial £35K guesstimates.

Don't worry, body panels are standard...

For those not purchasing outright, leasing an i3 will cost £369 a month over three years and 24,000 miles following a £2,995 deposit.

BMW will sell the i3 through a 'multi-channel sales model' which essentially means you won't even have to leave the house to purchase one. As well as dealers (or Customer Interactions Centres in BMW parlance), i3s will be available through 'BMW i partners' as well as an online platform. Probably best not to leave that delivery with the neighbour...

BMW is keen to make charging the i3 as stress-free as possible also, but will ask extra for the privilege. So whilst the car comes as standard with AC Fast Charging capability, you need the optional (£1,200) BMW i Wallbox to actually utilise it. So equipped, the i3 can be 80 per cent charged in three hours. Charging through a conventional plug takes between eight and 10 hours.

BMW will officially unveil the i3 on July 29, giving a first look at its production interior. Prices for the range-extender i3 are expected around then also.

[MrTappets]

Not sure what sales figures they're predicting but I've a feeling that this could be a massive success for BMW.

[virgilio]

This and the Tesla S make me think that electric cars are really getting there!

Very happy about it: they are just great pieces of engineering.

And if they can replace all the pointless petrol daily drivers which infest our cities, then nobody will complain about the beautiful hedonistic cars we actually love.

[kambites]

So just over 30k without the grant. Still an awful lot for a city car but these things are definitely getting there, it'll be interesting to see how much more the range extender version costs.

[Krikkit]

A lot of technology in there for £30k, I'd be surprised if the profits are decent compared to their normal range.

[The Moose]

I also predict a huge success for BMW with these cars. Where do I buy shares...

Edited by The Moose on Wednesday 24th July 11:08

[Soupie69uk]

This reminds me of the Audi A2 a little. Quite cool.

[The Moose]

Krikkit said:

A lot of technology in there for £30k, I'd be surprised if the profits are decent compared to their normal range.

I'd imagine that the short term profits aren't their main goal.

I can't wait for my local BMW dealership to finish their make-over and allow me to play with the toys they have for selling the i range

[Krikkit]

The Moose said:

Krikkit said:

A lot of technology in there for £30k, I'd be surprised if the profits are decent compared to their normal range.

I'd imagine that the short term profits aren't their main goal.

I can't wait for my local BMW dealership to finish their make-over and allow me to play with the toys they have for selling the i range

Agreed - they'll inevitably have sacrificed profitability for the halo effect to get the i range going, it's just by how much.

[kambites]

I suppose they may not make a profit from it at all - it wouldn't be the first time a manufacturer had released this sort of car as a loss-leader.

[AnotherClarkey]

Leaked photos of production spec cars cn be found at:

http://www.carscoops.com/2013/07/first-photos-of-n...

I must admit to being very tempted indeed - it strikes me as not a great deal of money for some advanced technology.

[Steve126]

virgilio said:

And if they can replace all the pointless petrol daily drivers which infest our cities, then nobody will complain about the beautiful hedonistic cars we actually love.

I think you are living in a dream world if you seriously believe people will stop complaining about the cars we love. If anything they will argue there is a green alternative and therefore no need for the gas guzzling interesting stuff.

Also, you just know the government will introduce road pricing if cars like this become popular, because they will lose so much in fuel duty revenue if people are buying less petrol/diesel. I don't fancy having every journey I make monitored by the government, it's bad enough that they want to control what you look at online.

[mrmr96]

Don't reckon much of that paint job (!)

[Aaron W]

virgilio said:

This and the Tesla S make me think that electric cars are really getting there!

Very happy about it: they are just great pieces of engineering.

And if they can replace all the pointless petrol daily drivers which infest our cities, then nobody will complain about the beautiful hedonistic cars we actually love.

They are pointless propaganda loving cars shale oil is the future not electric arsey cars like this i thought pistonheads was for real cars not these pieces of crap a bmw 116d will do better than this overall and you can drive it without paying al gores propaganda fund dont buy in to the global warming crap buy a 116d

[Aaron W]

Steve126 said:

I think you are living in a dream world if you seriously believe people will stop complaining about the cars we love. If anything they will argue there is a green alternative and therefore no need for the gas guzzling interesting stuff.

Also, you just know the government will introduce road pricing if cars like this become popular, because they will lose so much in fuel duty revenue if people are buying less petrol/diesel. I don't fancy having every journey I make monitored by the government, it's bad enough that they want to control what you look at online.

couldnt of put it better myself al gore loves to have more global warming propaganda money

[kambites]

Aaron W said:

They are pointless propaganda loving cars shale oil is the future not electric arsey cars like this i thought pistonheads was for real cars not these pieces of crap a bmw 116d will do better than this overall and you can drive it without paying al gores propaganda fund dont buy in to the global warming crap buy a 116d

Even if that were true, that would result in driving a 116d... no thanks. I'd far rather drive an electric car than an economy focussed turbocharged ICE powered one.

[Aaron W]

kambites said:

Even if that were true, that would result in driving a 116d... no thanks.

the 116d is a CAR not a money making scheme like the crap here

[kambites]

Aaron W said:

kambites said:

Even if that were true, that would result in driving a 116d... no thanks.

the 116d is a CAR not a money making scheme like the crap here

You think BMW don't make money out of the 1-series?

I can't make up my mind whether you're a troll or an idiot.

[Chicane-UK]

Aaron W said:

They are pointless propaganda loving cars shale oil is the future not electric arsey cars like this i thought pistonheads was for real cars not these pieces of crap a bmw 116d will do better than this overall and you can drive it without paying al gores propaganda fund dont buy in to the global warming crap buy a 116d

I'm sick of this narrow minded, "my way or the highway" attitude towards electric cars. You're going to need to deal with the fact that plenty of people (even here on this enthusiasts forum) find the technology fascinating. I love driving powerful petrol cars but am all for this electric tech and can't wait to have a go at driving something like this.

I don't see why both can't co-exist.

And BTW - 7 posts in 7 months and you only spring up to rail against electric tech and promote shale oil? Do you work for Shell or something?!

[Aaron W]

kambites said:

You think BMW don't make money out of the 1-series?

they obviously make money thats the point but it isnt just about money its about fun besides if you would rather drive an electric car than a real car why are you on pistonheads the guardian is out there too

[simonrockman]

If you buy this as a company car is it zero rated for BIK? For lots of people that's a 40% saving and for some a 45% saving. Is it still 0 rated if you have the range extender?

For someone working in London, paying top rate tax and congestion charge every day this could be a frugal purchase.