What lead did BMW ever have? The i3 was always way overpriced for the range and size.
Agree on Nissan though. The leaf used to be the only cheapish EV available in the USA but Chevys newer products and prices look far more competitive
Agree on Nissan though. The leaf used to be the only cheapish EV available in the USA but Chevys newer products and prices look far more competitive
And the follow up versions could have improved, that is what many internally at BMW expected. They wanted the next evolution of all their major cars to go EV.
However management pulled the rug from that and basically said the next full product cycle is gone be mostly ICE with some PHEV and very little pure electric.
So they went from a company who was transitioning to EV rapitly, to a company that focused on a strategy of 'everything' meaning architectures that are ICE, PHEV, HEV, even hydrogen and electric.
As for Nissan, I'm with you on Chevy's competition. But I was on about how they were the first modern manufacturer of mass-produced BEVs and eleven years later...they still have just the one model that sits on the low-end. And as you point out, that singular model's lunch is probably getting eaten by Chevy Bolts.
That said if BMW had bought out a 5 series that was absolutely identical in the cabin apart from the fuel gauge showing battery and the tachometer showing energy out/regen — would that not have been a super popular product?
Dealerships make most of their profit on services [0], not car sales, and electric cars need significantly less services than ICE [1][2].
[0] https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/where-does-the-car-dealer....
[1] https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_maintenance.html#:...
[2] https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-02-10/people-want...
I can navigate to addresses in my phone book (and change route efficiency vs time settings), play podcasts, internet radio and tidal albums using the jog wheel (while the car is moving), and make phone calls without taking my hands off the wheel.
The i3’s price (and especially looks) we’re problems, but they absolutely could have had a strong contender years ahead of other legacy auto makers.