BMW has unveiled its new i3 model, the first in the new electric drive ‘i’ range. The unveil took place simultaneously in New York City, London and Beijing and was attended by hundreds of journalists.
There was no shortage of razzmatazz or bold claims. BMW executives lined up to suggest that the new i3 marks the start of a new era for BMW, with a car of the future that will tap into new megatrends such as the emergence of mega-cities, advances in smart connectivity and the need to meet increasing demands for environmental sustainability in automotive products.
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Speaking in New York City, BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer equated the new model with landmark developments in telecommunications.
“Big changes start small,” he said. “Looking back in history, we can find many examples of this. Today, the BMW i3 marks the beginning of a new mobility age. To put this into perspective, take a look at the mobile phone in your pocket. We had more than one hundred years of landline telephones. Then came the mobile phone and it completely changed how we interact with our world. The mobile phone opened up business opportunities that no one would have believed possible.
“The car industry has waited well over a century for its own revolution. Today the wait is over. What the mobile phone did for communication, electric mobility will do for individual mobility.”
The new i3 comes with light weight carbon fibre technology which BMW believes will eventually “fundamentally change the car industry, allowing automakers to create lighter, more efficient and sustainable vehicles with reduced fuel consumption and lower emissions”. The car’s body structure is made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, manufactured at a dedicated plant in the US supplied with hydro-electric power. The car is then assembled and produced at a plant in Liepzig that BMW says is 100% powered by wind turbines.
How many i3 models will be produced? Where is break-even? BMW board member responsible for sales, Ian Robertson, was at the London launch and being careful with his words. He would not volunteer volumes, but he did say that the car will be profitable ‘from Day 1’.
“It is too early to say about numbers, but we will be a significant player from next year, the first full year of production,” said Robertson.
How does that stack up against the huge scale of the investments already undertaken? “Some of that expenditure – eg R&D – is relevant across the group,” he said, “in areas like powertrain with plug-in hybrids and carbon-fibre manufacturing will be spread across a broad range of vehicles in the years to come.
“What we are saying very clearly is that from Day 1 we will make a profit on these vehicles.”
See also: Future mobility
