A few years back, Mitsubishi rebranded its electric minicar, the iMiEV, as the Mitsubishi i.

Not only was this confusing, as the car is still known as the iMiEV elsewhere, but it's also an autocorrect nightmare and leaves little red squiggles throughout your document whenever you write about it.

Hacks everywhere will be breathing sighs of relief that BMW has now added a new designation to its BMW i vehicles, called eDrive--and the first car to bear this new tag was the 2015 BMW i8 Concept Spyder, unveiled at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show.

Intercapitalization specialist and occasional producer of cars, BMW, will use the new tag on all its future electric and plug-in hybrid cars.

eDrive refers to the components of the electric drivetrain, such as its in-house developed electric motors, the lithium-ion battery, and the intelligent motor management system. eDrive will no doubt be as significant in the coming years as the M badge is for its performance models--and BMW is keen to highlight the driving pleasure of its electric range.

The i8 Concept Spyder makes its debut at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show, which opened on Monday. It's the clearest hint yet as to what the production i8 will look like, with conventional doors and a more production-ready dashboard.

Power is by the same combination of 1.5-liter, 3-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine, and electric motor. Not only will this provide high performance, but the potential for 80 MPG economy figures too.

Unfortunately, it will also provide us with plenty more wiggly red lines for the forseeable future...

For more information from the 2012 Beijing Auto Show, head over to our dedicated show page.

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