BMW plans to sell at least 30,000 i3 units in 2014

Ian Robertson, member of the BMW board responsible for sales and marketing, said in an interview that BMW aims to sell at least 30,000 units of its i3 electric vehicle a year starting in 2014. “We are targeting volume production for the i3,” said Robertson. However, the production will not be limited to this number. If the demand for i3 vehicles goes up, BMW is willing to adjust production to accommodate the demand.

The BMW i3, or Megacity vehicle as known internally, will be launching in 2013, while the i8 sportscar will be next to launch, then a number of hybrid vehicles will also follow. The price of the i3 has not been announced yet, but BMW sources say that it will be more than 40,000 euros in Europe.

“As with all BMW Group products, the BMW i3 will be a premium car,” Robertson said. “Our sales will strongly depend on legislation. Not only by big markets like the U.S. or China, but by local city authorities and their terms of taxation,” Robertson said. “If a city like Amsterdam or London decides that you get a tax reduction, then sales will boost.”

BMW will try a couple of ways to increase the demand for this vehicle including a car sharing program. “We are looking at multiple distribution channels – from conventional sales and leasing to different rental approaches, like car sharing. We will also build up communities for such rental approaches, this is why we bought a share of the smartphone app My City Way”, said Robertson.

Source: Automotive News