If BMW Had Done A Better Job With The i3 Would The Tesla Model 3 Have Been Such A Hit?

Right now, electric cars are going through a rough time. In the late 2000s, gas prices indicated that we’d all be driving cars fueled by electricity plants by now, but that isn’t the case. Instead, EV sales are below levels that experts predicted they would be at, but what’s to blame for this? One of the most commonly cited explanations is that gas is cheaper than it used to be, so fuel economy ratings are again something that only those who watched Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” care about.
Read Article

MDarringer - 6/6/2016 2:58:18 PM

+1 Boost

Spurious correlation! For the headline to be valid there would have to be causation and no causation can be demonstrated here. The i3's lack of popularity did not cause the Model 3's popularity.

MorePower - 6/6/2016 3:46:29 PM

+4 Boost

i3 is more of a reaction to the Leaf and Volt than the Tesla.

Quirky styling and BMW markup, along with a failure to properly educate consumers on the i3's advantages, are the reasons why the i3 sold the way it did.

One must also realize that the i3, in this iteration, was never going to be a "mass market" success. Think of it as a proof of concept and carbon fiber production manufacturing study.

MDarringer - 6/6/2016 4:13:47 PM

+1 Boost

Precisely that. I would love for the next Mini to leverage some of that forward-thinking construction.

Dexter1 - 6/6/2016 10:22:15 PM

+3 Boost

The thing is ugly. That's why it didn't sell. Period.

MDarringer - 6/7/2016 9:27:20 AM

0 Boost

It's also not a "BMW". It's a tiny hatchback that would make more sense as a Toyota Prius C than a BMW. The i8 actually feel like a BMW when you drive it. This is a stunningly terrible drive for the price.

222max - 6/7/2016 10:03:34 AM

+2 Boost

Ditto. It's an ugly turd of a thing.

TheSteve - 6/6/2016 11:15:43 PM

-1 Boost

The two have nothing to do with each other, other than being EVs, so suggesting that one is contributing to the other’s success or failure is a hollow argument.

Also consider that the i3 is a real car, in showrooms, and with an established (though modest sales record). The Tesla Model 3 is still being designed at this time. How do you compare something real to something that might be, some day?

HenryN - 6/7/2016 10:42:06 AM

+1 Boost

Same old denial.