[Jason]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

BMW iNext to Serve as Brand Flagship in 2021

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BMW has not done much with its BMWi sub-brand since the i3 and i8 were introduced, and the next innovative i model will not come until 2021.

According to Bloomberg: BMW AG's response to the challenge posed by Tesla Motors Inc. will be ready in 2021, years after Audi and Mercedes-Benz plan to roll out their own long-range electric vehicles.

With Tesla planning to enter the mainstream of the luxury-car market with the Model 3 next year, BMW is bringing out the iNext, which will supplant the 7-Series sedan as the brand’s flagship model. The vehicle will come eight years after introducing the squat electric-powered i3 city car in 2013.

The iNext will be "our new innovation driver, with autonomous driving, digital connectivity, intelligent lightweight design, a totally new interior and ultimately bringing the next generation of electro-mobility to the road," Chief Executive Officer Harald Krueger said Thursday at the annual shareholders meeting of the 100-year-old company. “We have always stressed that our centenary is a springboard to the future.”

The new model is the centerpiece of BMW’s effort to defend its position in the luxury-car market as changing consumer tastes challenge the German manufacturer’s focus on high-speed Autobahn thrills. BMW is responding to pressure from Tesla and traditional rivals like Daimler AG’s Mercedes as well as the risks posed by Apple Inc.

BMW’s decision to allow eight years to pass since rolling out the i3 follows sluggish sales for the 160 kilometer-range vehicle, which failed to excite customers in the way Tesla’s electric Model 3 sedan has done.

Full article at Bloomberg.

[InTheNightKitchen]

That just seems so far away, the competition is going to have a strong pivot in the paint by then. I really hope they (can) change the game in 2021.

[dimabimmer]

Every Tesla sold today is sold at a loss to the company.

[M4chiavellif82]

Originally Posted by dimabimmer

Every Tesla sold today is sold at a loss to the company.

Fuzzy numbers.
Every Tesla sold at a loss.
every Bugatti is sold at a loss.
every Maybach is sold at a loss.

how do companies exist? I must suck at math or business.

[gtron]

Why do they have to put "i" in front of everything? Oh yea.... iPhone. My bad, everybody! My bad.

[julienjj]

Originally Posted by M4chiavellif82

Fuzzy numbers.
Every Tesla sold at a loss.
every Bugatti is sold at a loss.
every Maybach is sold at a loss.

how do companies exist? I must suck at math or business.

That's the best marketing strategy ever. Make the buyer believe they got a lot more value than what they paid for.
Obviously the cars are sold for a profit, but it is reinvested in the business to increase the future revenue generation. I'm probably not teaching you anything tho....

[lux]

Sounds like BMW is way behind for EV if we have to wait until 2021. They wasted too much time and effort on their hydrogen cars.

[dkhm3]

Originally Posted by dimabimmer

Every Tesla sold today is sold at a loss to the company.

good point.

[BMW335iOn18s]

Originally Posted by lux

Sounds like BMW is way behind for EV if we have to wait until 2021. They wasted too much time and effort on their hydrogen cars.

I think hydrogen will be the next step after electrification. After all, electric cars still increase emissions, just not tailpipe emissions. It's better to burn hydrogen than electricity produced in ways that cause pollution.

[georgere]

2021 is only 5 years away. I would not expect any break through in auto industry, and moreover from BMW, by then.
Tesla will remain to be the leader in EV area. It looks like Porsche and thus Audi/VW will enter the space successfully but to beat tesla they need to come in with low prices which I do not see happening.
Finally if tesla merges their efforts with someone who has the infrastructure to build cars, they will become unbeatable for decades.

[dimabimmer]

Originally Posted by M4chiavellif82

Fuzzy numbers.
Every Tesla sold at a loss.
every Bugatti is sold at a loss.
every Maybach is sold at a loss.

how do companies exist? I must suck at match or business.

Would you care to explain how a Bugatti at a price tag of $1.7 million sold at a loss to a company?
Maybe at a loss to a customer, but not the company.

By the way, my previous comment above on tesla selling their cars at a loss and not profit,- is a fact stated by a reputable financial analyst. Tesla is taking hundreds of thousands of dollars of customer's deposits and gambles on eventually making profit with expansion of their product line.

[frankchn]

Originally Posted by dimabimmer

Every Tesla sold today, is sold at a loss to the company.

Tesla as a company is losing money because of its R&D / general spending, but on a unit basis (i.e. revenue from each car sold - cost of building the car), each Tesla sold is profitable.

You can see that by looking at their latest financial statements -- there is positive gross profit but a negative net income.

[TheBingoBalls]

Originally Posted by dimabimmer

Would you care to explain how a Bugatti at a price tag of $1.7 million sold at a loss to a company?
Maybe at a loss to a customer, but not the company.

Each Bugatti Veyron sold didn't lose money for VW, the Veyron project as a whole did. Each Veyron that was sold lowered the cost of the project all the way up to Veyron #450. So when you do the math, total loss over total units sold, it comes to about a loss of $6.25 million/Veyron. If VW were to keep selling Veyron's, they would eventually break even and make profit.

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by dimabimmer

Would you care to explain how a Bugatti at a price tag of $1.7 million sold at a loss to a company?
Maybe at a loss to a customer, but not the company.

By the way, my previous comment above on tesla selling their cars at a loss and not profit,- is a fact stated by a reputable financial analyst. Tesla is taking hundreds of thousands of dollars of customer's deposits and gambles on eventually making profit with expansion of their product line.

If I recall correctly VW stated shortly after the launch of the Veyron into the market years ago that each unit was being sold at a price below their cost of manufacture. You might be able to find the article with that information with a quick Google search.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by dimabimmer

Every Tesla sold today is sold at a loss to the company.

...and a proportionate gain to all mankind.


(I kid! No, really. I am totally neutral on Tesla and electric cars - no opinion or comment one way or the other for the foreseeable future from me. It's just that you left that hanging there and I had to snag it.)

Originally Posted by BMW335iOn18s

It's better to burn hydrogen than electricity produced in ways that cause pollution.

But you don't just pull liquid hydrogen out of nowhere. As with electricity, it too must be manufactured/produced somehow. And that process would not be zero emissions either. Plus, my recollection from last I read is that it takes more energy to produce a given quantity of liquid hydrogen than you ultimately get from it.

So either way, you need cleaner processes. But that can evolve over time, in tandem with the vehicles. And once you do finally move all of the emissions from the vehicles to the energy production facility, you can then move slowly toward zero total emissions without ever having to replace those vehicles again (well, I mean they'll eventually wear out sure, but you get me).

Those are just the facts as far as I am aware. I have no opinion on the viability, economical/political forces at play, etc.

[SCOTT26]

The iNext will take its inspiration from the original ideas laid out within the 2009 Vision EfficientDynamics Concept car by being a full four seater.
It will showcase cutting edge Technology as well as design and continue the BMWi philosophy.
It will be shown in conceptual form soon and eventually progress to pre-production concept before arriving as a production car.

In the run up to iNext BMW will introduce Fuel Cell Technology with its partner Toyota in upper echelon models such as the 5er Gran Turismo,X5,X7,7er and 9er.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by gtron

Why do they have to put "i" in front of everything? Oh yea.... iPhone. My bad, everybody! My bad.

Well don't quote me but I remember Reading somewhere that BMW had the names already copyrighted before Apple iPhone as the project had been in the works for over 10 years.

BMW said the "I" stands for innovation if my memory serves me right.

[roastbeef]

flagship like the M brand once was?

[Doctor///M]

Hard to imagine that doing ED (or any sort of engaged driving) in an iNext will evoke the same emotion as many of BMW's past and current offerings. Maybe I'll come around, most likely not.

[dimabimmer]

Originally Posted by frankchn

Tesla as a company is losing money because of its R&D / general spending, but on a unit basis (i.e. revenue from each car sold - cost of building the car), each Tesla sold is profitable.

You can see that by looking at their latest financial statements -- there is positive gross profit but a negative net income.

Good info, thank you.

Here is the interview, Tesla mentioned on minute 29'30"

[lux]

Originally Posted by BMW335iOn18s

I think hydrogen will be the next step after electrification. After all, electric cars still increase emissions, just not tailpipe emissions. It's better to burn hydrogen than electricity produced in ways that cause pollution.

Hydrogen will not be ready for primetime anytime soon. It all comes down to infrastructure. Tesla has invested in a large network of supercharging stations and EV outlets are easily had at many businesses and government buildings. The same can not be said for hydrogen filling stations.

There other point is hydrogen is very costly to produce and transport. There is a lot of energy used to compress/decompress hydrogen for fuel. It is not the ideal solution others make it out to be.

[X3paul]

I have been a critic of bmw in the past for putting out tech that wasnt ready (runflats, eps,etc) so I agree that if not ready wait until it is but 2021?? 5 years?? In this day and age?? RIP Bmw i. It was great knowing you. I will keep my i3 (2017 september delivery in Munchen hopefully) as a reminder of better days.