BMW is currently deciding what its next “i” model will be, following the launch of the i3 and i8 models last year. There have been rumors about a Tesla-fighting i5 model, but a BMW source has revealed that the automaker is still contemplating its next model.
BMW is currently deciding what its next “i” model will be, following the launch of the i3 and i8 models last year. There have been rumors about a Tesla-fighting i5 model, but a BMW source has revealed that the automaker is still contemplating its next model.
“We are still in the strategic research phase where we brainstorm,” BMW Group r&d chief Klaus Froehlich told Automotive News Europe. “Teams that start with a white sheet of paper. They talk with customers, hold workshops, then present their ideas and we decide.”
Related: BMW i3 gets a much needed software update to fix acceleration issue
There is one thing that we definitely won’t see – a rebadged BMW Group model. There have been rumors about the i sub-brand getting a version of the X5, but Froehlich disputes those rumors, since the i sub-brand’s mission is to change the perception of how a low-emissions car should look and perform. The i sub-brand is also supposed to introduce new innovative technologies that will then filter down to the rest of BMW’s lineup. For example carbon fiber and the i8’s plug-in hybrid powertrain, which will soon be offered on other higher volume BMW models.
Since the next i model won’t arrive until after 2020, BMW will continue to improve the i3 and i8. We have a minimum 20 percent battery density improvement every three years, thus over the i3 and i8’s life cycle, we will offer more performance, more range or a combination of the two,” Frohlich said.
Source: BMW via Automotive News
