LIthium Drive: BMW i3 'good for Sydney, Melbourne' ilc.v tnr.v, czx.v, cgp.v, alk.ax, lmr.v, rm.v, nup.ax, srz.ax, usa.ax, jnn.v, abn.v, ura.v, mxr.v, tsla, res, mcp, avl.to, quc.v, cee.v, sqm, fmc, roc, li.v, wlc.v, clq.v, lit, nsany, byddf, gm, dai, rno.pa, hev, aone, vlnc

  BMW is one of the companies, which can make the Electric Cars happen an a mass scale basis. So far German auto makers were more talking about Electric Cars, than really making them, but BMW is scaling its Electric market approach very fast.

"Will we be able to compete with Asia in the end in Electric Cars space? New Electric Cars are coming on the market now and we have good news from BMW Active E today - company will be leasing these electric cars later this year. Leasing means they will be still expensive, but we need to start somewhere.
"China Plans 220,000 EV Charge Points and 2,351 Battery Switch Stations.  Some people have 5 year plan how to make Electric Cars the strategic industry and to be leaders in Lithium Batteries and Electric Cars. They also have more than 3 trillion dollars in Reserves and can afford Lithium dreams, by the waythey are already controlling 97% of Rare Earths market and moving fast into Lithium Supply space. These people are in China and they are busy now with new and very practical revolution - Industrial one based on Electric Cars."

Brisbanetimes:

"BMW i3 'good for Sydney, Melbourne'
Bruce Newton
July 8, 2011

Electric car will work just as well in Australian cities as mega-cities such as London, says BMW big-wig.

Australia has been endorsed as a sales destination for BMW's first ever production electric car, the i3, by one of the most senior executives within the company.

BMW global sales and marketing director Ian Robertson told Drive in Germany this week that research into urban driving habits showed the i3 would work in Australia.

Up until now the i3's big brother, the diesel-electric i8 supercar, has grabbed attention in Australia, especially because BMW has been displaying the concept version at the Melbourne motor show.


Previously, the i3's Australian prospects had been downplayed because it was primarily intended for the globe's congested mega-cities such as London, New York and Shanghai.

"Clearly Australia doesn't have a mega-city but we see the i3 as being appropriate for other cities as well," said Robertson. "We know the average commute in a metropolitan area is around 28-35km in-and-out, which means a range of 120-150km is more than appropriate for many, many people living in an urban environment.

"So I think it is just as appropriate for Sydney, Melbourne or Perth or wherever that car may be sold."
However, Robertson turned evasive when asked when i3 and i8 would get to Australia.

"The roll-out hasn't been finalised but we will launch both cars at the back-end of 2013, start of 2014," he said.

Drive understands the i3 will be first out of the blocks in late 2013 followed by the i8 in early 2014.

The concept version of the i8, the Vision EfficientDynamics, has been a headline-grabber at the Melbourne motor show. BMW Australia sales and marketing chief Tom Noble told Drive last week that the i8 would cost around $300,000 when it goes on sale in Australia.

Robertson, who was actually in Australia recently to meet with local dealers, wouldn't confirm Noble's pricing estimate for the i8 or what the i3 could cost. But clearly, both will be expensive.

"The i8 will be priced in the region of the super sports cars," he said. "With the i3, clearly that will be positioned as a premium product. If you look at some of the cars that are out there at the moment and look at their price points we will be premium over them.

"We will decide country-by-country and currency-by-currency on the final pricing over the next 18 months or so. The technology is expensive."

Robertson said BMW had yet to decide whether to lease the i3's lithium-ion storage battery separately to buyers or include it in the overall price.

The i3 will be powered by a rear-mounted 100kW electric motor providing a maximum range around 160km and top speed close to 160km/h. The chassis is an aluminium skateboard overlaid by a four-seat carbon-fibre body.

Robertson said a hybrid i3 was also under consideration. He also pointed out that i3 and i8 were "bookends" for an 'i' family of alternate propulsion vehicles that would progressively roll out.

The i8 will be powered by a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo diesel engine, with a pair of electric engines working in combination to produce a maximum of 241kW of power and rush from 0-100km/h in an impressive 4.8 seconds."

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