BMW i3 may bring dawn of the EV | comment

Electric cars have got off to a faltering start and it seems for every flop, such as Mitsubishi's iMiev runabout, there's an absolutely ruinous failure such as the flawed Better Place battery swap scheme.

One of the few exceptions is Tesla, the Californian EV specialist started by PayPal entrepreneur Elon Musk. The Model S sets out to be a desirable premium sedan first and an electric car second. It's been so successful in its home market that deliveries to Australia, originally scheduled to begin now, have been pushed back to mid-next year.

This means it will arrive about the same time as the BMW i3, the first electric car from the Munich badge, which was unveiled with much fanfare this week. The i3 is a 4m-long city runabout and it will soon be joined by the i8, a sportscar.

The i3 uses a 125kW electric motor to drive the rear wheels and can travel at least 130km on batteries alone. BMW is also offering a “range-extender” version that adds a 650cc two-cylinder engine acting as a generator to recharge on the run.

In this respect it's similar to the Holden Volt, but the i3 has a better chance of success. It will be about the same price as a Volt, which is $59,990. BMW buyers expect to part with that sort of money for their badge but for Holden fans, it's a stretch.

The i3 is the first mass-produced car made from carbon fibre, which adds to its buyer appeal, and BMW has ticked all the environmental boxes throughout the manufacturing process.

It's also pitching the i3 as part of a total approach to personal transport that takes in more than the car. Apps, connectivity, car and garage sharing, charge locations and even holiday loaner vehicles are all part of the picture -- at least in Europe and the US.

BMW Australia spokeswoman Lenore Taylor is confident the same level of technology will be available here when the i3 arrives. “We're the only ones looking at it from a holistic, 360-degree point of view,” she says. It's been a long time coming, but 2014 is finally looking like the dawn of the EV.