[afadeev]

"2018 3 Series will continue to be offered with a range of three, four and six-cylinder engines along with a plug-in hybrid, however an all-electric model is expected to join the 3 Series family as well.

With a high-capacity 90kWh battery pack, the 3 Series EV could boast up to 480km of range on a single charge, and deliver performance to rival the much-hyped Tesla Model 3 that’s also expected to arrive in 2018":

http://www.themotorreport.com.au/637...model-3-report

[tommolog]

Originally Posted by afadeev

"2018 3 Series will continue to be offered with a range of three, four and six-cylinder engines along with a plug-in hybrid, however an all-electric model is expected to join the 3 Series family as well.

With a high-capacity 90kWh battery pack, the 3 Series EV could boast up to 480km of range on a single charge, and deliver performance to rival the much-hyped Tesla Model 3 that’s also expected to arrive in 2018":

http://www.themotorreport.com.au/637...model-3-report

This, if true, would be a departure from what I've been told first hand by very high level BMW product managers. BMW's core models were to all get PHEV versions, but never be full electric because there are just too many compromises needed to make a platform accommodate all three powertrains - ICE, PHEV and BEV.

Full electrics were to be engineered and developed under BMW i. I guess it's possible their philosophy has changed in the past couple years, but I still really doubt this is true. I'm sure BMW had a long range pure BEV in development, but I don't believe it's going to have 3 Series badge.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by tommolog

This, if true, would be a departure from what I've been told first hand by very high level BMW product managers. BMW's core models were to all get PHEV versions, but never be full electric because there are just too many compromises needed to make a platform accommodate all three powertrains - ICE, PHEV and BEV.

Full electrics were to be engineered and developed under BMW i. I guess it's possible their philosophy has changed in the past couple years, but I still really doubt this is true. I'm sure BMW had a long range pure BEV in development, but I don't believe it's going to have 3 Series badge.

Recall that "BMW i" had been re-orged into an autonomous driving division.

If anyone is to develop and launch new EV models, they would have to come in the shape of regular production line models (1-series / 3-series / etc).

a

[tommolog]

Originally Posted by afadeev

Recall that "BMW i" had been re-orged into an autonomous driving division.

If anyone is to develop and launch new EV models, they would have to come in the shape of regular production line models (1-series / 3-series / etc).

a

Only time will tell but I don't believe there's really any truth to that report. BMW has been working on autonomous drive features for many years now, it's not like they suddenly decided to do so and needed the resources from the entire i division to do it.

Since its inception, BMW i was created to be a vessel for innovation, sustainability and a wide variety of mobility services. I absolutely believe they are stepping up their focus on autonomous driving features, but not at the expense of developing future EVs or anything else BMW i was working on. I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised when they see the next vehicle from the i division. I expect we'll get to see it next year in Frankfurt.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by tommolog

Only time will tell but I don't believe there's really any truth to that report. BMW has been working on autonomous drive features for many years now, it's not like they suddenly decided to do so and needed the resources from the entire i division to do it.

Since its inception, BMW i was created to be a vessel for innovation, sustainability and a wide variety of mobility services. I absolutely believe they are stepping up their focus on autonomous driving features, but not at the expense of developing future EVs or anything else BMW i was working on. I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised when they see the next vehicle from the i division. I expect we'll get to see it next year in Frankfurt.

Yea, it surprises me that a press release is given out or some automotive news and everyone is an expert, we see only 10 or less percent of what goes on in our company hit the news and the rest is just under the covers.

It's funny when I meet up with friends for dinner and they sit and tell me all about my company and where we are headed with our products and they don't even work their. I just smile knowing the real truth. You never know what might pop up In the future but looking forward to it.