Photo: insideevs.com
A lot of rumors have been saying that BMW wants to launch a new i model in the near future, one that would take on the Model S amongst others. Deemed by most people as the future i5, the car was confirmed by the Germans but they also said that it’s going to come out somewhere in 2019 or 2020.
So where does that leave us? Well, according to new information, it seems like the new head of BMW wants a new i car but of a different shape and size. Apparently, Mr. Krueger wants an electric SUV to rival another Tesla, this time the Model X that is slated to come out sometime this year.
Surprised? We’re not. Of course, we don’t believe the rumors for a number of reasons that we’ll write down later on but there is some sense into the making of this car.
First of all, all manufacturers are jumping on the SUV wagon these days. Some do it in a more blatant way, others take their time and carefully plan it but in the end, everyone wants to make more crossovers and SUVs. That’s because the market demands it.
Sales of such models have gone up lately and there’s no sign they will come down anytime soon. Apparently, everyone wants a big, high-riding car to go around. However, the prices of gas will start rising again and all these people will probably reconsider their choices.
The sudden increase in demand for these cars has been mostly accounted to the drop in gas prices that was recorded not long ago. That has all but ended though, as the same prices are now starting to grow once again. Having a fully-electric SUV at your disposal would relief you of those kind of issues. Sounds good, right?
Well, there are a couple of downsides as well. First of all, the rumors we’re discussing here claim that the car will be assembled along with all other SUVs in the US, at Spartanburg. That might be a logistical nightmare.
First of all, it’s highly unlikely, especially if it’s going to be marketed as part of the i sub-brand. The i3 and i8 are built with parts shipped from the US at the Leipzig plant using renewable energy. BMW already has enough problems keeping up with the demand for these two, adding another production line would seem close to impossible.
Second, creating an assembly line for the new electric SUV in the Spartanburg plant would demand some serious investment. At the moment, the Germans are indeed investing $1 billion over there but that’s for expansion of the current capacity and the introduction of the new X7, both confirmed. Of course, they could include a new line for the EV SUV but that remains to be seen. Either way, this does seem like the more plausible scenario but without the inclusion of the letter i on the boot.
So far, BMW representatives contacted have dismissed this info as pure speculation but we have to agree that an iSUV does make a lot of sense right now.
Surprised? We’re not. Of course, we don’t believe the rumors for a number of reasons that we’ll write down later on but there is some sense into the making of this car.
First of all, all manufacturers are jumping on the SUV wagon these days. Some do it in a more blatant way, others take their time and carefully plan it but in the end, everyone wants to make more crossovers and SUVs. That’s because the market demands it.
Sales of such models have gone up lately and there’s no sign they will come down anytime soon. Apparently, everyone wants a big, high-riding car to go around. However, the prices of gas will start rising again and all these people will probably reconsider their choices.
The sudden increase in demand for these cars has been mostly accounted to the drop in gas prices that was recorded not long ago. That has all but ended though, as the same prices are now starting to grow once again. Having a fully-electric SUV at your disposal would relief you of those kind of issues. Sounds good, right?
Well, there are a couple of downsides as well. First of all, the rumors we’re discussing here claim that the car will be assembled along with all other SUVs in the US, at Spartanburg. That might be a logistical nightmare.
First of all, it’s highly unlikely, especially if it’s going to be marketed as part of the i sub-brand. The i3 and i8 are built with parts shipped from the US at the Leipzig plant using renewable energy. BMW already has enough problems keeping up with the demand for these two, adding another production line would seem close to impossible.
Second, creating an assembly line for the new electric SUV in the Spartanburg plant would demand some serious investment. At the moment, the Germans are indeed investing $1 billion over there but that’s for expansion of the current capacity and the introduction of the new X7, both confirmed. Of course, they could include a new line for the EV SUV but that remains to be seen. Either way, this does seem like the more plausible scenario but without the inclusion of the letter i on the boot.
So far, BMW representatives contacted have dismissed this info as pure speculation but we have to agree that an iSUV does make a lot of sense right now.
Google News