BMW's citycar: rumors still flying

Posted: Thursday 13 March 2008 by Alison


Rumors from Germany that have BMW wanting to segment the arm of its smaller cars are ever more frequent. Yesterday we spoke of the electric city car and the chat between Reithofer and Auto, Motor und Sport. The same magazine today, returns to the topic of the flirt between BMW and the smaller segments of the market.

This “smaller” proposal from Munich will most probably include more individual designs exuding BMW personality, and not the classic utilitarianism of smaller cars. As said, the much-talked about model will be paying some attention to the environmental theme: the car will be smaller than the series 1 and the Mini, and will offer in 2012 (a year after its debut) a no-emission version. No fear though from the German manufacturer about driving pleasure, according to Auto, Motor und Sport, because the power produced by the electric motor will be enough for a city car, with added autonomy supplied by a lithium ion battery.

There’s more: the version equipped with a combustion engine could be an option for emerging markets. Management is ready to bet that in four years time, in countries like China, a new rich generation will be born and will be very interested in new forms of transport. In short, there would be many a premise for a “cultmobile” along the lines of the Mini in Europe. On the topic of Mini, there remains only the puzzle of the brand: in Munich they have yet to decide under which brand to commercialize the new citycar.

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  • Profile of thriftycarsales

    thriftycarsales

    19 Aug 2010 - 19:03 - #1
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    AS battery technology improves, so the pure electric car is becoming more and more of a proposition. DIY converters are currently looking at about a 50 mile range with a decent amount of deep-cycle batteries, without having too lug too much weight around.

    I really would’ve thought BMW would badge someting like this under the Mini brand, as BMW really isn’t associated with ultra small cars. We have to wait and see on this one, but my bet is on the Mini brand ultimately being the electic city car flagbearer for BMW group.

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