BMW Can't Build its $135,000 Plug-In Hybrid Fast Enough

Gas May be Cheap right now but, Even the Well-to-Do Prefer Not to Burn it. BMW is Doubling the Production Pace of its 357 Horsepower i8 Plug-In Hybrid Car -- which Runs 23 Miles or so on Electricity Alone -- to Around 20 Vehicles per Day. The Automaker is Bumping the Numbers to Meet Demand and Cut the 4-Month Waiting List in Half. As our Sister Site Autoblog Pointed Out, that's a Mere .04% of an F-150's Production but, then Again, the i8 Costs around 4x as Much. A More Apt Comparison Might be Against the Tesla Model S, with Sales of 35,000 Units in 2014, Compared to 18,000 BMW i3 EVs and i8 Plug-In Hybrids, Combined. At the Same Time, Chevy Sold Nearly 19,000 Copies of its Plug-In Hybrid Volt in 2014, while Nissan Sold 30,000 Leaf EVs for a Combined 7% Bump over 2013. That Shows Not Only that BMW is Holding its Own in the Clean Vehicle Market, Sales-Wise but, that the Overall Market is Growing -- Even in a Time of $2 per Gallon Gas.




Info Sources:

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/03/28/bmw-doubles-i8-production-to-meet-demand

http://europe.autonews.com/article/20150324/ANE/150329998/bmw-ceo-sees-ev-initiatives-helping-i3-sales-in-key-markets%20www.autoblog.com/i8