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i think this whole i project, until now with the i3 and i8 is a very big gamble for BMW. on the one hand, if it's successful it'll push CFRP into cars in this and other segments faster, but what happens to that billion euro investment upfront for the infrastructure if god forbids, it fails?
the extensive use of aluminum and CF is great news to the entire car industry but saying that BMW has "left behind the competition" is some big words, refer to tesla Model S in terms of range and performance even without CF structure. i'm not saying that model s should be compared to the i3, it should not, one is 100k and the other is 45k. but it represents the efforts that both company is showing to the world when it comes to electric cars. one is a normal looking car with incredible performance, the other is a CF ecobox with meh performance.
130miles(max range with Rex and grandma style driving) sounds ok as long as you stay in the city. compared to prius and volt which still main uses gas this is greener, but it's not a "better" solution, your mobility and freedom, the whole point of owning a car, is limited. losing that extra range is going to be hard cold fact.
i'm left wondering what happens when model X comes out? what happens when a midsizer from tesla comes out with twice or more the range and power compared to the i3? no matter how powerful the brand image of BMW is compared to tesla it's future i5, 6, 7s won't sell if you are not the leader of performance and range in this segment.
marketing at the end of the day is still just marketing, lets see how the i3 does in reality. this will lead into an all out competition in structure, manufacture and battery tech in the electric segment in the future and it's the consumers that's gonna benefit.
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