BMW delays i-cars

BMW’s first plug-in models, the i3 and i8, will go on sale in Australia at least four months later than planned due to unexpected overseas demand.

Originally due on sale here in July, the i3 hatchback will now become available in November, in both pure-electric and range-extending (‘REx’) plug-in hybrid form priced from about $60,000.

A small number of the i8 plug-in hybrid super-coupe will also arrive here this year – in the third quarter – for promotional purposes including an official launch.

However, first Australian customer deliveries of BMW’s flagship i-car, which we expect to be priced somewhere between the 650i Coupe ($231,445) and M6 Coupe ($282,145), now won’t take place until early 2015.

While the i3 has been on sale in Europe since last year, BMW is preparing for production of the i8 at its Leipzig plant next month, before European customer deliveries commence in June.

BMW says demand for the i8, which has been available to order in Europe since October, is “already exceeding the planned production volume during ramp-up”.

Similarly, both ground-breaking i models have attracted strong potential demand in Australia, where more than 3000 people have registered “serious” expressions of interest via BMW’s website.

However, while BMW won’t reveal exactly how limited its initial supplies of either model will be, it has confirmed the first year's production of both the i3 and i8 are .

BMW Australia is yet to conduct “above-the-line” marketing for either model, following the low-profile introduction of a limited number of the brand's first electrified models – the ActiveHybrid 3, 5 and 7 Series models -- late last year.

Meantime, BMW has released even better performance and efficiency figures for the carbon-fibre i8 than it previously announced.

According to the latest official figures, the rechargeable petrol-electric coupe can accelerate to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds – two-tenths sooner than the 650i coupe and two-tenths later than the M6 Coupe. BMW previously only listed “less than 4.5 seconds” for the 0-100km/h sprint.

At the same time, official EU average fuel consumption of the i8 – which combines 266kW of power and 570Nm of torque with a relatively low 1485kg DIN kerb weight and slippery 0.26Cd drag coefficient -- has also reduced, from 2.5 to just 2.1L/100km, with CO2 emissions are now listed at only 49g/km.

While that makes its official fuel consumption and CO2 emission figures a little over half of the Toyota Prius hybrid’s, BMW says the i8’s consumption is about 50 per cent better than that of conventionally powered sports car.

What’s more, BMW now says the i8 can consume less than 5.0L/100km during typical everyday commuting around town, provided the battery was full at the start.

Like all hybrids, efficiency reduces as speeds increase, because in this case the 170kW/320Nm turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine must work harder on the highway, where the 96kW/250Nm hybrid synchronous electric motor is less effective.

However, BMW says the i8’s consumption remains under 7.0L/100km “if the commute includes extra-urban or motorway driving” and less than 8.0L/100km during “longer-distance operation at higher speeds”.

The i8 has a 120km/h top speed and 37km driving range in zero-emission all-electric mode, and is electronically limited to 250km/h in Sport mode.

Charging its lithium-ion battery pack takes less than an hour at a public charging station or up to three hours via a household power outlet.

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