Strong Demand For Electric BMW i3 Might Require Increased Production

BMW i3

Strong demand for the BMW i3 electric car has the automaker looking at increasing its production of the vehicle. The amazing thing is, it hasn’t actually gone on sale anywhere yet.

The BMW i3 is currently in production at their plant in Leipzig, Germany and is slated to go on sale in Germany on November 16th for $47,440. It won’t be available in the United States, China, or Japan until sometime in the first half of next year. Despite not having hit a single showroom, there are already 8,000 preorders.

The model made its debut on July 29th at simultaneous events in New York, London, and Beijing and has seen strong consumer demand ever since. They expected to sell over 10,000 units next year, but if the pace of sales continues at the same rate as preorders, they’ll have to increase production of the BMW i3 to meet demand.

BMW is under a good bit of pressure to recoup its investment in the technology used in the i3 and has launched an aggressive ad campaign in support of the vehicle. It includes international print, television and internet ads.

Spending on new models and increased production capacity has already narrowed the company’s profit margin to 9.0% for the second quarter of 2013. This is down from the 11.6% margin they enjoyed a year earlier.

When the BMW i3 finally does hit US shores, it will sell for $42,275 for the base model. Those looking for extended range will be able to opt for a BMW i3 that has a small gasoline engine that will recharge the batteries, but that will add another $3,850 to the price of the car.

Even without the range-extending gasoline engine, the BMW i3 has a range of 80-100 miles on a single charge. It can also fully recharge fairly quickly in just three hours with a 220-volt charger.

Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.