Maybe I’m in a bubble, but I didn’t even notice BMW had EVs
They seem to be really focused on chasing the Boomer demographic. I’m a happy former customer (twice over) but wouldn’t consider anything in their EV range - which means I wouldn’t consider buying a BMW again at all unless there’s some sort of radical strategic change.
Why they’re not pumping out $25k 250 mile range city cars for millenials and gen z is a mystery to me.
Plus at that price point they are not competing with other compacts - which aren't that popular anyway - but with a 2-4 year old used car. One of my collegues just bought a 4 year old Toyota Avensis for the same price. Which one do you think will last longer?
BMW platforms now are both for ICE and EV, but "Neue klasse" that will start to arrive soon is a from-scratch, new, electric only platform. That will really make the cars more spacious. The sportiest platform is supposedly architected for 1350 hp, so it will be interesting to see if BMW will take up the lap time fight with Porsche. That would be interesting.
1) That batteries would remain really expensive. Lithium batteries have been falling in price for a long time and EV demand was only going to drive new innovations and economies of scale, so even at the time that seemed like a poor bet. BMW wasn't entirely wrong since battery prices stayed quite high during the model lifespan, but it didn't really matter because bet 1) lead to bet 2) 2) Carbon Fibre construction. BMW bet that EVs would need to be light to extract range from small batteries, so they made a CFRP monocoque and made a wager they could find ways to manufacture CFRP at scale more cheaply. They were pretty wrong (though it has led to an explosion of carbon fibre trim options on M models that is nearly pure profit)
i3 had such a small battery, but it still had the huge EV cost penalty that made early EVs very niche. That proved pretty fatal, though the few that got one did tend to really like them.
That double failure scared BMW pretty badly and they retreated to shared platforms, so every EV they sell can't take advantage of the packaging benefits being an EV allows. There are huge spaces for engines up front that is nearly all wasted.
Despite that deficiency BMW has invested a ton into their EV powertrains, so they actually have some of the best efficiency out there.
I am also upset that Smart failed at turning their ForTwo into an affordable EV.
Two great small cars that are gone.
Nevertheless, I appreciate the effort. And the i4 looks (and drives) sweet.
Everything else than the battery or motors are poor quality if you compare to any other above average brand.
[0] https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-s...
[1] https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-s...
Also poor quality of what?
> Also poor quality of what?
Basically anything other than battery or motors. Interior build. One big touchscreen to make anything as cheap as possible. Brakes. Suspension.
EVs literally have less wearing parts by design and somehow they managed to made these few ones worse than on average.
In Germany, TÜV (Mandatory inspections in Germany), placed Tesla Model 3 for 111th in reliability, just behind Dacia Logan which was in the second last place, when the first mandatory inspections in 2023 started.
You can find many sources about this, here one example:
https://www.carscoops.com/2023/12/tesla-model-3-ranked-last-...
(The electronics is arguable.)
It really depends on the model. When a company produces 2 million cars a year and has a shitload of models in their lineup, some are going to be problematic.
For gasoline engine, for example, the B48 engine is highly reliable [1]
I'm one of those "oddballs" who'll never ever buy a new car because to me buying a new car is deciding to be a guinea pig. I buy cars that are 3 to 5 years old, once it's known if the model is a reliable one or not.
Take, say, a used 4-series "Gran Coupé" with the B48 engine. It's a complete bargain, ultra-reliable and one heck of a sweet ride. I drive higher-end stuff but we picked that for my wife two years ago and it's really a good car.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/bmw-ix-...
I'd say you've indeed been living in a serious bubble. The European Commission decided, years ago, that by 2035 (which is around the corner), not a single new car could be sold in the EU if it wasn't 100% electric. Not even hybrid.
Since that decision they backtracked a little bit but meanwhile all the german automanufacturers started freaking out and started, in a hurry, to come up with EVs.
It's not just BMW. Porsche, Mercedes, Audi/VW: they all produce EVs now.
Most of BMW’s electric cars (with the exception of the notably weird-looking i3) are also pretty subtle; you wouldn’t really know they were electric unless you looked closely. In particular, they’ve kept some approximation of their trademark grille.
Image: https://bmwi.bimmerpost.com/forums/attachment.php?s=aae66d26...
Right, they have disguised the electric ones as phenomenally ugly late-stage German cars, so you can't really tell they are electric without getting closer than you'd really like. From a safe distance it just looks like any other BMW with grill cancer.
And the weight, of course.
Batteries in the floor make a good amount of sense if done right.
1. Just the battery for a -hybrid- (1.1kWh) can weigh at least half as much as a 3 cylinder engine. putting it either under the front or in the trunk is an issue, as now you have to have a more reinforced firewall or reinforced whatever to keep the battery from being an additional force in an impact.
2. Lower center of gravity is always a good thing.
> And the weight, of course.
3. Weight is interesting because we start to see some of the fun 'delta-V' issues. As an example look at the GMC Hummer EV, the F-150 Lightning, and the Cybertruck. You can see that as the weight goes up the amount of battery to increase range also goes waaayyyy up.