BMW plans perks to win EV customers

FRANKFURT (Bloomberg) -- BMW will offer extra services to attract drivers to its "i" electric-car lineup, including occasional use of fuel-powered models.BMW also will install optional at-home fast-charging systems for the i3 city car coming out at the end of 2013, Marcus Krieg, a sales and marketing manager, said at a presentation in Leipzig, Germany.Onboard navigation software will be programmed to detect the nearest public charging station during trips, and i3 owners will be able to borrow a fuel-powered car from their dealer for weekend or vacation travel requiring a longer range.The i3 goes on sale in the United States late this year. There won't be a significant number of cars in dealerships until early 2014.The four-seat, battery-powered i3 will enter a market that has yet to meet industry expectations.In Europe, Nissan sold 5,210 units of its Leaf electric car, according to figures from JATO Dynamics, which was well below its target of 9,000. U.S. deliveries of the Leaf failed to reach even half of the 20,000 cars the Japanese manufacturer was targeting last year.Instant money-makerBMW is targeting early earnings from its electric car lineup by offsetting expensive new materials with a sales setup intended to limit distribution costs."The BMW group is charting new territory," Harald Krueger, the carmaker's head of production, said at a separate presentation near Leipzig. "We are confident we will earn money with every BMW i3 we sell from the launch on."The i3 will be followed by the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car in early 2014. The i3 may be priced at about 40,000 euros ($52,200), according to an estimate by Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Science in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany.BMW hasn't announced yet how much the car will cost.The i8's price will exceed 100,000 euros, Ian Robertson, the manufacturer's sales chief, has said."The i3 is more a car for the wealthy few," said Christian Ludwig, a Dusseldorf-based analyst with Bankhaus Lampe. "It's not really practical with its limited range and limited loading space. You also need a garage or private parking space to charge the battery, as the public infrastructure is still very limited."BMW adapted the i3's layout to the all-electric drivetrain, with an aluminum chassis that houses the battery pack and guarantees a low center of gravity, Krueger said.The passenger compartment will be made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, which weighs half as much as steel and is 30 percent lighter than aluminum, to counter the battery weight.Limiting spending To balance costs for the more expensive carbon fiber material, BMW slimmed down the production process by reducing the number of body parts by two-thirds, Krueger said.The use of thermoplastics instead of steel for the body panels will eliminate the need for a paint shop."The i brand will play a pioneering role that drives technology to be rolled out over coming life cycles and to the rest of the BMW brand," Herbert Diess, the carmaker's head of development, said at a supplier event earlier this month in the company's home city of Munich.To prove that longer excursions are feasible with an electric vehicle, BMW is establishing a chain of quick-charging stations along the 590km route from Munich to Berlin that will take only 30 minutes to power up the battery, sales manager Krieg said.The company outlined plans last July for a direct online sales platform for the i3 and i8 as well as a roaming sales force with a limited showroom network.BMW will also add the i3 to its DriveNow car-sharing fleet to enable a wider range of customers to explore the vehicle.Diana Kurylko and Automotive News Europe contributed to this report

BMW plans perks to win EV customers

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