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In the US, at least, 45e MSRP is 3700 more than 40i xdrive and 45e comes standard with air suspension, which is a 2K+ option on 40i (can't look it up now becaus
by pandaman 5y ago
In the US, at least, 45e MSRP is 3700 more than 40i xdrive and 45e comes standard with air suspension, which is a 2K+ option on 40i (can't look it up now because it's not even available at this time). I would not call a ~2000 a substantial cost increase on a 60K+ vehicle. But there is more - you get 7500 tax credit from the feds and in some states you get the state credit too so it's actually cheaper than even rear-drive sdrive 40i with the fed credit alone.
- matthewdgreen 5y agoIn other words, with some luxury features, small sales numbers (easy to take a small margin when you’re selling next to none) and a massive $7500 Federal subsidy it compares with the ICE on affordability. But I would prefer to save those valuable $7500 tax credits for vehicle designs that can actually be built and sold at scale. That’s the problem here: PHEVs are supposed to be a bridge to full EVs, but this thing is an obsolete dinosaur that will barely move the needle on electrification. It’s also fairly obvious that within the extended warranty lifespan of this vehicle, BMW will ditch this design and completely replace it with a platform that is a good EV first, rather than an ICE with some expensive bolt on electrification.
- pandaman 5y agoI frankly don't care about the needle of electrification. I responded to your claim that it is substantially more expensive, which had been false in my experience. If BMW will drop this design or the price incentive will change I am not going to be buying a BEV for sure, it's going to be an ICE or hybrid from another brand. Luckily the trend seems to be opposite, the 45e replaced the horrendous 40e and had been a great success so I doubt BMW will be killing this line any time soon.