BMW has no plans for additional ‘i’ electric vehicles

According to a top BMW executive, the automaker will not add a third model to its i sub-brand of electric vehicles until it gets a better picture of demand. In an interview with Reuters, Harald Krueger said “We need to see how demand for the car develops” before they add more i vehicles to the brand.

BMW has trademarked i1 through i9, causing much speculation about an upcoming i4 or i5 EV which could be an i3 with true 4 door access, but the management has said BMW currently has “no plans to add to the i3 and i8 hybrid sportscar.”

In addition, Krueger said production of the i3 for China is not under consideration due to the still-developing infrastructure in the world’s largest car market.

Although specific production rates for the i3 weren’t given, BMW did say that the electric vehicle has attracted over 11,000 orders since it entered German showrooms in early November 2013.

BMW invested more than $2.7 billion dollars in the development of their i sub-branded electric vehicles. The i3 is currently on sale in Europe, and scheduled to hit North America in May 2014. The BMW i8 will follow in late 2014 as a 2015 model year.

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Alan Moeller

By Alan Moeller

EV car evangelist! I read, watch, write, research and chat all things electric cars. Got a lead on a story? Shoot me a message on Facebook.

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