3 ms·

I remember reading that many of the assumptions BMW made for the i3 didn't hold true. The main design focus of the i3 was the expensive low-weight carbon-fiber

I remember reading that many of the assumptions BMW made for the i3 didn't hold true. The main design focus of the i3 was the expensive low-weight carbon-fiber body. They regretted that later when it turned out that the cars' weight didn't have that much of an impact on the efficiency. Also, when I drove an i3, I was seriously underwhelmed. It just felt too small to be practical and didn't drive well enough to be fun. I think Tesla's strategy of starting with large, expensive vehicles make more sense. Most people who can afford an expensive car don't want a tiny car.

ErikCorry 7y ago
Yes. The focus on weight makes perfect sense for their combustion engine cars, but they went totally overboard with it on the i3. The cost of all that carbon fibre made success impossible. The other big mistake was the 2 gallon petrol tank on the hybrid version. They had the opportunity to have the only hybrid on the market that has no gearbox, no complicated transmission, no clutch and a decent sized battery. But nobody wants to have to stop to fill up every 50-60 miles.