BMW appoints 46 dealers to sell i3 and i8 electric cars

In August 2012, BMW announced that it would sell its new range of i cars, namely, the i3 electric city car and the i8 hybrid sports cars exclusively online. However, while the cars themselves may be technologically forward looking, the customer base isn’t quite there yet and it's hard to see when customers will buy standard production cars over the Internet anytime in the future since cars by their very nature are touch and feel products. [Update(29/07/2013): BMW i3 makes its World Premiere in New York, London and Beijing]

BMW has therefore announced 46 dealers across the UK that will retail the electric city car. The dealers will be equipped with technical knowledge to carry out repairs to the high voltage batteries of these cars. BMW is also planning a wider service network to offer extended coverage for the general service, maintenance and repair of its i cars.

BMW states that enquires about its i range of cars are “extremely high” with more than 6,000 people registering their interest in the i brand.

“With the announcement of our BMW i retail network, we are open for business and taking deposits on the i3 and i8. Our BMW i dealerships are located in the areas of the UK with the highest concentrations of population. With BMW i, we are offering game-changing technology that will revolutionise the way we move through a completely new driving and ownership experience,” said Tim Abbott, BMW Group UK Managing Director.

BMW i will also encompass a range of premium services for mobility aimed at optimising the use of parking spaces, recharging infrastructure, ‘smart’ navigation systems, intermodal route planning and access to other BMW vehicles on an ‘on-demand’ basis to further enhance the ‘i’ experience of its future customers.  

Also Read: BMWi: Understanding the i3 and i8 Concept Studies

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