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BMW i3 Sales Pick Up Pace after Upgrade and New EV Subsidies in Germany

The BMW i3 really isn't a bad car. Its design is something two people with different opinions on the matter will never settle upon - even though most people tend to agree it's not "beautiful," just like a British Bulldog could never be - but apart from that, there's very little you can hold against it.
BMW i3 1 photo
Photo: BMW
It ticks all the boxes that a European electric vehicle should. It's small, so it's easy to get around the busy towns with narrow streets and few parking places. It's modern, something that can best be perceived from inside the BMW i3. It's smart, coming with clever solutions that offer more interior space than the outside would have you believe. Finally, it's eco-friendly, making heavy use of recycled and recyclable materials.

It's not slow, either, offering a more than decent 7.2 seconds for the 0-62 mph acceleration time and a top speed of about 94 mph (150 km/h), which is more than enough for highway cruising as well. It's got rear-wheel-drive, so it's true to BMW's way of thinking while also being quite fun to drive. So what is its main problem?

Well, you could be tempted to say "Tesla," but as long as the Model 3 isn't available for sale, it wouldn't be entirely true since there is a considerable difference in price. However, the i3 still requires a minimum contribution of $42,000 to BMW's coffers, so it's not exactly cheap either. And then there's the lousy maximum range of 118 miles (190 km), which wouldn't be that bad if it were close to being real. In the real world, you'd be lucky to get 100 miles (160 km) before the batteries ran out.

This year brought two things that made the BMW i3 considerably more appealing: the first came from BMW and took the form of a massive buff of its maximum range from 118 miles to 186 miles (300 km); the second was Germany's late decision to grant subsidies for electric vehicle buyers, effectively shaving 4,000 euros ($4,400) off the acquisition price.

These two measures led to an increase in the number of orders "many times over," as described by company sources quoted by the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. With deliveries of the improved model about to start, the electric BMW has gathered 5,000 orders worldwide, a fifth of which come from withing Germany.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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