Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s rechargeable i8 sports car is entering a soon-to-be-crowded field of supercars with a hint of green. While they tap into Tesla Motors Inc.’s popularity, they’re for different buyers.
“This is the supercar of the future: It has the driving performance of an M3 but gets more than 80 miles per gallon,” Ludwig Willisch, BMW’s North American chief executive, said last week in Pebble Beach, Calif. Relative to Tesla’s Model S, the i8 is “a whole different animal — it competes with different concepts.”
The early success of the Model S, with about 10,000 North American deliveries in the year’s first half, is signaling there’s a market for premium rechargeable autos. BMW, Volkswagen AG’s Porsche and General Motors Co.’s Cadillac are all readying plug-in premium cars that could pull sales from Tesla. And Honda Motor Co.’s Acura NSX will be a made-in-America hybrid.
At the Frankfurt auto show next month, BMW will show a production version of the plug-in hybrid i8 coupe that’s to go on sale in the U.S. in early 2014. Pricing, also to be announced next month, will be less than $150,000, Willisch said. The Model S starts at about $70,000.
While the Model S is propelled solely by lithium-ion battery power, BMW’s carbon-fiber-and-aluminum i8 uses electric power for the front wheels and a three-cylinder gasoline engine for the rear tires. The system delivers a combined 362 horsepower to speed the car from 0 to 62 miles (100 kilometers) per hour in 4.5 seconds, while delivering an average of 94 miles per gallon, BMW said.
Willisch declined to provide a U.S. sales target for the i8 or the lower-priced i3 electric car that also goes on sale early next year. Reporters got a sneak peek at the i8 last week, when cameras and phones weren’t permitted.
“Tesla was able to catch lightning in a bottle — almost literally — in the Model S,” said Jack Nerad, industry analyst and executive editor for Kelley Blue Book. “It came at the right time and the right price, and it has established for itself a ‘cool factor.’ “
The i8 differs from the Model S in that it is fundamentally a performance-oriented car, said Hendrik Wenders, product manager for the model.
“Model S has its merits, but it is a big sedan,” Wenders said. “It appeals to a different kind of buyer. I do not perceive it as a competitor.”
