BMW Announces Price Hike on i3

The Bavarian luxury carmaker BMW has announced a price hike of $1,075 (Rs 66,349) of its fully electric car i3 and now the car in United States costs $43,350 (Rs 26.82 lac) including destination & handling charges. The price hike is applicable to both the fully electric i3 (BEV) and the hybrid i3 REx. The hybrid model now costs $47,200 (Rs 29.13 lac).

The price hike in the 2015 model is justified as the car now gets standard heated front seats, satellite radio and DC fast-charging capabilities. Moreover, such features were also available in last year’s model but with an optional price tag of $700. The automaker has also increased the destination & handling charges of the i3 by $25 to $950.

Mechanically, the car remains same and keeps on carrying electric motor coupled with 22 kWh lithium-ion battery which delivers an output of 170hp & 250Nm of torque. While the hybrid model house a two-cylinder petrol engine with same electric motor found in electric model.

However, in India, BMW has officially announced that it will launch its much anticipated i8 supercar on 18th February in Mumbai. The BMW i8 will be the first plug-in hybrid supercar in the country and will pave the way for its younger sibling, the i3 which will be launched sometime later this year.