A minimum of 30,000 units of i3 electric vehicle is aimed to be sold by BMW AG and the action starts in 2014. To quote what Ian Robertson, BMW’s global sales and marketing boss, said would result in the pointer to a target of producing i3 in volumes. He made it a point to add that the sales volume of i3 could be well comparable to one of the lower volume Mini derivatives but with proper opportunities at hand, the company can quite easily raise the output. As statistics go, Mini sold about 30,000 units of its Clubman model all over the world.
Preparations are done by BMW to launch the i3 EV, formerly christened to be the Megacity Vehicle in 2013. Along with it the i8 plug in hybrid model, which was under the project head of project I group, will come out under its sub brand. The idea of the i8 plug in hybrid coupe is based on the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics concept study that was released in 2009. BMW informed that the hybrid plug-in vehicle has the performance of a sports car woven with the fuel consumption and emissions of a regular small car. The decision on what should be the price tag of i3 should be is yet to be taken, but according to BMW its gauged to be higher than 40,000 euros in Europe.
Robertson said that like all BMW group products that are of top notch finesse, i3 will be no exception in being a premiere car itself. It is yet to be decided upon as to what the starting price of i8 to be. Robertson said that its sales “strongly depend on legislation” and the taxation terms not just in big markets such as the U.S. or China, but also in local city authorities. He has an expectant outlook as to that sales will rise in cities like Amsterdam or London, which decide to give the customers a tax reduction. At present, Ireland and France give a one-time financial backing of 5000 euros to EV buyers.
Source: 4wheelsnews
