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BMW i8 Launched in China, Priced at $323,000

There’s an ongoing dispute about the prices premium European cars have in China and, according to Chinese authorities, things are about to change. They haven’t changed yet though and BMW just launched the i8 in the Asian country, at a staggering price: CNY1.988 million.
BMW i8 1 photo
Photo: BMW
That translates into roughly $323,000 at today’s exchange rates and we have to admit that we’re not even impressed. After all, the M3/M4 duo is three times more expensive in China than in the US while the i8 has just a 250% mark-up (yes, we’re being ironic).

Even so, that must be the least of the worries for the average Chinese customer. With their newfound wealth, the luxury car amateurs in the communist country have plenty of cash to spend. The problem’s going to be availability.

As we reported on several different occasions, BMW purposely wants to keep the production slow to make the car as rare and desirable as possible. The waiting lists are purportedly extremely long and some people are even willing to pay 50 percent more than the purchase price for second hand models. That’s how crazy the i8 phenomenon is getting these days.

The Chinese market will probably be no exception and, considering the huge amount of multimillionaires in the world’s most populous country, the i8 demand will probably skyrocket in a matter of weeks.
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