According to BMW production chief and future BMW CEO, Harald Krueger, the wait time for the new BMW i8 hybrid sports car is now more than four months. The initial wait time for the i8 was rumored to be around 18 months, then dropped to a more manageable six-months timeframe.
Krueger says BMW has doubled i8 production at its plant in Leipzig, Germany, to 20 cars a day. In contrast, the company has been making over 100 i3s a day. BMW sold 6,092 i3s and 555 i8s (for a total of 6,647 i vehicles) in the US last year. Globally, BMW sold 17,793 i vehicles (16,052 of the i3 and 1,741 i8s).
For 2015, the price of the BMW i8 in the U.S. was set to $137,450, including Destination & Handling.
The second year of BMW i3 production also brings a price increase in the US. The fully electric i3 (BEV) gets a price increase of $1050, for a total MSRP of $42,400. BMW of North America has also raise the destination and handling charge to $950, $25 more than previous year. The price increase also applies to the i3 REx which now sells for $47,200.
The MY2015 production has begun in January and first i3 units are expected to reach U.S. dealers in February.
[Source: AutoNews]
