Photo: bmw
Back when the i8 was initially launched, the waiting lists spread across as much as 18 months. Waiting a year and a half for your car to be delivered seems unacceptable to most of us so BMW took action.
First, they were limited by CFRP production, as the i3 was being built in huge numbers as well and both cars need the lightweight material by the tons. Then there was the issue of physically having the production lines available for an increase in output.
The i3 and i8 are both assembled in Leipzig at the company’s most eco-friendly plant that is using renewable energy. Therefore, in order to increase the flow of i8s, the i3 production had to be taken down a notch.
BMW addressed all of these issues, in order to try and keep waiting times to a minimum. How much would you be willing to wait for an i8? A month? Two? How about four? Apparently, that’s how much you’ll have to spend dreaming about your car from the moment you order it until it actually gets to you.
According to Automotive News, BMW’s production boss, Harald Krueger said at the company’s annual press conference that this is roughly how long customers have to wait nowadays following a doubled production output recorded by the plant from 10 units a day to 20.
That’s still a fifth of the i3 production that is claimed to be 100 units per day to be able to cope with the demand worldwide. In the meantime, the BMW brand sold 17,800 i cars last year, even though they were up for sale for nearly half of 2014. Sales are expected to go up this year with a goal of at least 20,000 units being set by the German company for its dealers according to rumors on the market.
In the meantime, the company has already begun research for a new i car that is to be launched after 2020 so we’re still pretty far off. Here’s to hoping it’s a crossbreed between the i8 and i3!
The i3 and i8 are both assembled in Leipzig at the company’s most eco-friendly plant that is using renewable energy. Therefore, in order to increase the flow of i8s, the i3 production had to be taken down a notch.
BMW addressed all of these issues, in order to try and keep waiting times to a minimum. How much would you be willing to wait for an i8? A month? Two? How about four? Apparently, that’s how much you’ll have to spend dreaming about your car from the moment you order it until it actually gets to you.
According to Automotive News, BMW’s production boss, Harald Krueger said at the company’s annual press conference that this is roughly how long customers have to wait nowadays following a doubled production output recorded by the plant from 10 units a day to 20.
That’s still a fifth of the i3 production that is claimed to be 100 units per day to be able to cope with the demand worldwide. In the meantime, the BMW brand sold 17,800 i cars last year, even though they were up for sale for nearly half of 2014. Sales are expected to go up this year with a goal of at least 20,000 units being set by the German company for its dealers according to rumors on the market.
In the meantime, the company has already begun research for a new i car that is to be launched after 2020 so we’re still pretty far off. Here’s to hoping it’s a crossbreed between the i8 and i3!
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