TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Google’s giant Equiano Internet cable has landed in South Africa

      8 August 2022

      The African tech start-ups eyeing global markets

      8 August 2022

      Karpowership loses bid to overturn environmental ruling

      8 August 2022

      New app launched to tackle potholes in South Africa

      8 August 2022

      Rogue database felled Capitec in its worst-ever IT outage

      7 August 2022
    • World

      Nvidia issues profit warning on slump in demand for graphics cards

      8 August 2022

      Buterin: Mining on Ethereum Classic won’t affect Merge

      8 August 2022

      Musk challenges Twitter CEO to a public debate

      7 August 2022

      Amazon splashes $1.7-billion on Roomba maker iRobot

      5 August 2022

      Nigeria asks Google to block banned groups from YouTube

      5 August 2022
    • In-depth

      The length of Earth’s days has been increasing – and no one knows why

      7 August 2022

      As Facebook fades, the Mad Men of advertising stage a comeback

      2 August 2022

      Crypto breaks the rules. That’s the point

      27 July 2022

      E-mail scams are getting chillingly personal

      17 July 2022

      Webb telescope’s stunning images of the cosmos

      12 July 2022
    • Podcasts

      How South Africa can woo more women into tech

      4 August 2022

      Book and check-in via WhatsApp? FlySafair is on it

      28 July 2022

      Interview: Why Dell’s next-gen PowerEdge servers change the game

      28 July 2022

      Demystifying the complexity of AI – fact vs fiction

      6 July 2022

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022
    • Opinion

      SIU seeks to set aside R215-million IT tender

      19 July 2022

      No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

      11 July 2022

      Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

      8 July 2022

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Sections»Motoring and transport»In pictures: BMW unveils flagship i4 electric car

    In pictures: BMW unveils flagship i4 electric car

    Motoring and transport By Agency Staff3 March 2020
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    Once the go-to brand for upwardly mobile sedan buyers with a need for speed, BMW is facing pressure from Tesla and its Model 3. The German brand’s answer to the electric threat is a sleek battery-powered car called the i4.

    The i4 will slot in next to the SUV-sized iNEXT as BMW’s two flagship electric offerings in 2021. Reminiscent of the company’s bread-and-butter 3 Series, the i4’s low-slung aerodynamic design helps maximise the car’s electric range and sports car-like styling.

    BMW’s latest vehicle debut comes at a time when many European car makers are rushing out electric vehicles to meet stiff new emissions standards and blunt inroads by EV leader Tesla. The Model 3 arrived in Europe just over a year ago and became the fifth-best selling sedan overall — electric or combustion — in 2019, behind Audi’s A4 and BMW’s 3 Series, according to data from LMC Automotive.

    The sleek sedan was instead shown in a live-streamed presentation in Munich after the show was cancelled due to coronavirus concerns

    Originally scheduled to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, the sleek sedan was instead shown in a live-streamed presentation in Munich after the show was cancelled due to coronavirus concerns. The cancellation was the first for the motor show in seven decades.

    BMW CEO Oliver Zipse shied away from identifying the Model 3 as the i4’s main target, saying his company’s new car “doesn’t compare to any other brand” in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

    “Electromobility comes to the heart of our brand and that is the first real dynamic car from BMW. So any comparison I think wouldn’t give the right message,” he said.

    Struggling

    But manufacturers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi are struggling to halt Tesla’s rapid expansion on their home turf, which has been fuelled by the global roll-out of the Model 3, it’s most affordable car. Mercedes, for its part, is planning to debut its EQA compact electric SUV as part of a drive to quadruple the number of plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles in its line-up this year.

    The battlefield extends beyond Europe to lucrative markets including the US, where German brands long dominated the entry-level sedan segment. Tesla’s Model 3 has overtaken rivals, apparently outselling the once category-defining BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class combined. While the company does not break out sales by region, InsideEVs.com estimates that Tesla sold 158 925 Model 3s in the US last year. That compares with sales of 47 827 for BMW’s 3 Series and 49 153 for Mercedes’s C-Class.

    After an early push into electric cars with the compact i3 hatchback and i8 roadster, BMW has shifted to a more conservative strategy, reacting to the challenging economics of these vehicles and consumer push-back against their quirky design cues.

    Battery-supply bottlenecks, technical problems and complex software requirements have hampered efforts to boost sales of electric vehicles packed with the latest electronic gadgetry. BMW also has scaled back plans to use lightweight but expensive carbon-fibre parts across its product range.

    BMW will introduce an electric version of the popular X3 SUV this year, which will be followed by the futuristic iNEXT SUV and the i4 in 2021. The i4’s electric motor delivers as much as 530 horsepower and can accelerate to 100km/h in about four seconds. Its battery will have a range of around 600km. Tesla markets the Long Range version of the Model 3 at 520km.

    Munich-based BMW will manufacture the i4 at its headquarters factory along with traditional models with petrol engines

    Munich-based BMW will manufacture the i4 at its headquarters factory along with traditional models with petrol engines, which will allow it to adjust production flexibly and in line with market swings. This year, BMW plans to sell about 140 000 electrified cars in Europe, with about 40 000 being purely electric.

    The three-pronged approach of producing electric, hybrid and combustion engines, which mirrors the strategy of arch-rival Mercedes, has yet to win much gratitude from investors as Tesla’s market value surged past BMW and Mercedes parent Daimler. At US$136.9-billion, the electric-car leader is currently worth more than both of its German rivals combined.  — Reported by Oliver Sachgau and Christoph Rauwald, (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP

    BMW Mercedes-Benz Tesla top
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleApple iPad in short supply as coronavirus spreads
    Next Article South African jobs bloodbath continues as Ellies plans layoffs

    Related Posts

    Google’s giant Equiano Internet cable has landed in South Africa

    8 August 2022

    The African tech start-ups eyeing global markets

    8 August 2022

    Nvidia issues profit warning on slump in demand for graphics cards

    8 August 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    You don’t need a call centre to take advantage of call centre technology

    5 August 2022

    Black man, you are still on your own

    5 August 2022

    UC&C interoperability offers businesses operational cost relief in tough times

    4 August 2022
    Opinion

    SIU seeks to set aside R215-million IT tender

    19 July 2022

    No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

    11 July 2022

    Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

    8 July 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.