BMW i3 News

Electric cars enjoy many incentives, from tax credits and purchase rebates through carpool-lane access, to encourage buyers to give them a try. But the range-extended model of the BMW i3 electric car turns out not to qualify for a state exemption from New Jersey's new-car sales tax--despite at...

You know Top Gear, right? The UK car show with a trio of presenters who hate fuel-efficient cars, think electric cars are useless and like to scream around airfields in gas-guzzling supercars? Well, not quite. James May has always been a little different. He often drives to the studio in a...

This past Wednesday, May 21, I picked up my shiny new 2014 BMW i3 REx range-extended electric car from JMK BMW in Springfield, New Jersey. The car, in Laurel Grey, was the first range-extended i3 delivered in North America, and I will always appreciate that BMW gave me the honor of being the first...

Every time I visit a conventional car dealership to test-drive an electric car, I'm struck by the salesman's lack of savvy about plug-in cars. The first time I drove a Chevy Volt three years ago, the salesman barely knew how to turn the car on, and had no clue about electric cars in general. The...

Yesterday we reported on the delay getting range-extended versions of BMW's 2014 i3 electric car to the market, pending the confirmation and fitment of their EPA-approved window stickers. That wait may not be much longer--and now we know the car's official EPA-rated mileage. The 2014 BMW i3 REx is...

It takes all sorts of people to make the world go around, and the same can be said about electric vehicles. Some customers never want to touch a drop of gasoline again, and opt for a pure battery electric vehicle. Others like the convenience that a range-extended or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle...

BMW plans to produce up to 9,000 tons of material per year at its Washington-state plant.

With the 2014 BMW i3 battery-electric car now being delivered to its first buyers, and the range-extended i3 REx version to follow within several weeks, BMW is at last in the business of selling electric cars in volume. And that, argues one financial analyst, may pose the most direct threat yet to...

Solar charging is indisputably one of the best ways of running an electric vehicle. It certainly mitigates any lingering worries about fueling your car with a smoke-belching coal-fired power plant. BMW is backing solar too, commissioning its BMW DesignworksUSA arm to design a stylish solar carport...

As the first customers take delivery of their new BMW i3 electric cars, it's time for the pre-launch hype to disappear and let sales do the talking. The hype isn't hard to understand though--BMW is far outside its comfort zone with the i3, yet has come out with a product that looks, and is...

It's clearly the week for news about the new and distinctive 2014 BMW i3 electric car. Yesterday, as the first cars arrived at dealers, we learned that it was rated at 81 miles of range (less than a 2014 Nissan Leaf's 84 miles), but operates at an unparalleled efficiency of 124 MPGe. Then, late...

Well, the numbers are in, courtesy of a quickly-photographed window sticker, and now we know the range and efficiency ratings for the 2014 BMW i3 electric car. The EPA-rated range is 81 miles, and its efficiency is a record-breaking 124 MPGe combined (138 MPGe city, 111 MPGe highway). ALSO SEE...

With deliveries of the first 2014 BMW i3 battery-electric cars now just days away, BMW has busily been training service personnel and dealership staff on its new and radical design. And an informed post on BMWBlog by a dealership employee who went through the multi-day course offers some new...

Both BMW and Nissan are set to roll out electric-car charging programs for their customers.

BMW is on track to build twice as many i3 electric cars in 2014 as it originally planned.

It isn't unusual for citizens of a particular country to employ a little patriotism when buying vehicles and stick to brands from that country. A huge swathe of Americans buy cars built by the Big Three, for example. Italians buy plenty of Fiats. French drivers often stick to Renaults, Peugeots and...

BMW ActiveE drivers question the i3's price and practicality.

As expected, the 2014 BMW i3 electric car has been awarded its "white sticker," the coveted permission to drive in High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes with only one occupant on California's crowded freeways. The range-extended version of the i3, however, has not yet appeared on the list--and there remains...

Early adopters, ecology-minded citizens and, increasingly, drivers who want very low running costs are now buying plug-in electric cars. That much we know. But many have reported frustrations at the dealership, from a lack of interest to salespeople who actively steer them away from electrics...

The 2014 BMW i3 electric car will only be offered in Launch Edition trim for its first 3 months on sale.