BMW has made headlines by announcing their new i3 electric car. It seems pretty nice. They've made it mostly out of plastic and carbon fibre, so it will weigh even less than normal cars that don't have to haul around hundreds of pounds of battery. The styling is a bit chunky and boxy, with side windows and mouldings taking random turns up and down the body; So now I understand why BMW usually just goes for plain and minimal styling. Though I see that have used their traditional "double kidney" radiator grille, even though it's not actually a grille on a radiatorless electric car.
The price starts at $41,350(US) which is par for the electric course. But with this being a BMW, it seems to be a little easier to stomach. If BMW were to build a compact crossover, it would probably cost almost that much anyway, so I'm guessing it will be an easier sell than say, Nissan selling an electric compact for $30,000. And BMW is trying to make it even more appetizing by selling them "cellphone style," paying a monthly lease rate that will slowly pay off the car along with paying for servicing and charging equipment.
Though personally, if I were a BMW customer, I think I'd be inclined to save up to buy the $70,000(US) Tesla S, and be able to drive a car that's more the size I'm used to. So I still say that Tesla has the best approach for taking electric cars mainstream: forget doing accounting gymnastics to get the average consumer to buy an electric car that's twice the price of a normal car. Instead, sell luxury electric cars while evolving the technology to make it incrementally cheaper. But whatever the business strategy, this seems like a significant step closer to a practical electric car, even if we aren't there yet.
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