The BMW brand has officially indicated that it does not want to propose new models of the small urban electric i3. Ditto for the sporty hybrid i8 ...
This is indeed what Klaus Fröhlich, in charge of development at BMW, told Carsales magazine.
Hybrid rather than electric at BMW?
Launched in 2013, the small city BMW i3 will not be renewed, as the BMW i8, launched the following year. Obviously, this does not sound the end of the electric car at BMW, which will offer various zero-emission models in the coming months.
Nevertheless, according to the brand, the electric car market is not nearly as flamboyant as some would like to believe. " The truth is that there is no demand for electric vehicles from European customers, " said Klaus Fröhlich.
According to the latter, the electric car suffers from many disadvantages on the Old Continent, starting with its selling price, too high. Added to this is autonomy that scares many motorists, but also an infrastructure that is not up to par, or sales that are too conditioned by government subsidies.
Regarding the successor of the BMW i8, the manufacturer is building on its Vision M Next concept, which will have a new generation of a hybrid powertrain.
The CCFA's reaction
On the side of the CCFA (for Committee of French Automakers ), we reacted immediately to the words of BMW, believing that the group held " a speech of high-end manufacturer, with imperatives of profitability. "The organization also wanted to recall the success of some manufacturers, such as Renault (with its ZOE ) and Nissan (with its Leaf ), not to mention the upcoming arrival of Volkswagen, with its future ID.3.
To see now if the electric car market will actually explode in a more or less near future, the latter now represents a tiny share of total vehicle sales in the world, with less than 2% in Europe ...
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