Global Crisis

Autoblog posted a story today claiming the i3 will have a beginning price of $34,500! If true that would mean the effective price would be $27,000 in the US after the $7,500 federal tax credit and would most certainly propel the i3 into instant sales success immediately upon its launch. The article also claims the range extender option (REx) will cost about $2,000, which is exactly half of what has been speculated thus far.

However, don't write your deposit check yet. While I'll be as happy as anybody if BMW somehow manages to deliver this groundbreaking vehicle at such a low cost, I just don't believe it's true. BMW hasn't said much about pricing, but what they have said seems to indicate a higher price point, one in the mid $40,000 range. It would certainly be a coup if they can deliver on this, but I'm not holding my breath. The article is suspect to me in the first place because it claims the range extender to be used in the i3 was first used in the ActiveE. I have over 50,000 miles on my ActiveE. I wish somebody told me earlier it had a range extender, I cold have used it on more than  a few occasions!