BMW NA CEO Willisch Talks i3 With Lou Ann Hammond on Driving The Nation

Lou Ann Hammond of drivingthenation.com recently spent some time with BMW of North America's CEO Ludwig Willisch talking about the i3. One thing I found interesting is Willisch said that BMW has tradmarked all of the numbers from i3 through i9 for the use of future vehicles. I had always heard they had tradmarked i1 through i9, and didn't start at i3 as Willisch indicated. A simple trademark search reveals BMW does hold the trademark for all the names from i1 through i9. So either Ludwig made a simple mistake, or perhaps he slipped and let out the fact that BMW doesn't have any plans to ever produce an i1 or i2. This of course isn't earth-shattering news, I just found it interesting that he indicated that the reserved names start at the number 3. 

The other thing I enjoyed was all of the MINI-E and ActiveE footage in the video is of me driving my old cars. You see me plugging in at my restaurant, driving the MINI-E around in New York City and driving my ActiveE up my driveway at home. Willisch also talks about the dealers being excited about carrying the i brand. That's good news to hear because as with other manufacturers that introduce electric cars, BMW has struggled a bit so far to get the dealers up to speed with these new vehicles. They are definitely doing work behind the scenes to improve this, but there is still a lot to do to get their client advisers ready to embrace the i3. It's going to take some time, but I'm happy to report progress is definitely being made. Enjoy the clip!

Hat tip to InsideEVs.com for finding the video. 

EV Owners Shun ICE Loaners

Hopefully more dealers will understand that their EV customers want an EV loaner when their car is in for service and add them to their loaner fleet.

I've been lucky enough to own some nice cars in my life. Like most people, bringing my car in for service was never something I looked forward to. However one thing that I did like was when I got an interesting car as the service loaner. I remember one time when my Mercedes ML430 was being worked on I got a black E430 4matic and I liked it so much I almost told the dealer to keep my car and trade it for the loaner.

Today, many dealers have only a small fleet of in-house loaners and use rental car agencies for the overflow of cars that they need. They do it to save money, and I'm sure it does, but they do miss out on the opportunity to show off the other cars that they sell. I still don't fully understand why a BMW dealer for instance would want to put their customer in a car from another brand while they are getting service, it just seems wrong.

I tried plugging in the 135i loaner I had a when my ActiveE was being serviced. That didn't work too well.

However dealers that are beginning to sell electric cars are now finding they have another problem to deal with. Their EV customers don't want to drive a gas car while their car is in for service, regardless of the make or model. I wrote a blog post about this over two years ago when I was driving my ActiveE and now that the i3 has launched I'm watching many i3 owners say the same thing.  One person recently posted this in the i3 Facebook group:

"Most people would love to drive a new BMW 3-Series for a few days as a loaner. Not me. It vibrates, burns gas, I have to use the brake pedal, makes noise and is slow. All this found during the 2.1 mile drive home. Very much so ‪#‎firstworldproblems‬. Think I'm going to bribe my wife for a ride to and from work."

A 2014 BMW 328i loaner? No thanks.

 Imagine that. The BMW 3-Series is considered one of the best cars on the road. In fact, it has was recently awarded Car & Drivers coveted "Ten Best Cars" distinction for the 23rd consecutive year. One would think just about anyone would love to have a new one for a few days while their car was in for service. That's not so if your car is an i3. After driving an electric car for a while, ICE vehicles seem antiquated. You feel the engine vibrations right up through the steering wheel, you hear the engine noise when you accelerate, gear shifts feel clunky and jerky. Yep, once you get back in an ICE vehicle after driving electric you realize what you've left behind and you don't miss it. You've evolved now, and you don't want to go back to the dark ages of the ICE.

Some BMW dealers have already realized this and are including i3 loaners into their in house fleet. This is a great idea for a couple of reasons. First, they can keep their i3 customers happy while their car is in for service, and secondly they can expose some of their other clients to the electric driving experience. Any electric car owner can tell you, getting people to try electric drive is the hardest part. Once they experience the smooth linear acceleration, the quiet vibration-less cabin and the excitement of the instant torque of an electric motor they too will be thinking about going electric. I'm happy to report my dealer (JMK BMW in Springfield, NJ) - perhaps with the help of some encouragement from me ;)  has decided to include an i3 to their stable of loaners. I think this is a great move and will pay dividends for them in the long run.

Like your Model S loaner? Just keep it!

However this certainly isn't just a BMW issue. I've seen Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt owners lament the fact that they get an ICE loaner car and wish they had an electric option available. Tesla only sells electric cars so they only have electric loaners. In fact, not only do you get a Tesla loaner, but all Tesla loaners are the top of the line P85 Model S. Plus, if you really like the loaner, Tesla allows you to keep it. Of course you have to pay the difference in your car's value and the P85 loaners that you want, but it's a simple process where you just tell them your keeping that car and they tell you how much you owe them for the difference. That's another example of how Tesla is bringing new ideas and improved customer service to the industry.

I am sure that the savvy dealers who provide electric loaners for their EV customers will definitely benefit. The electric vehicle community is pretty close-knit and does communicate amongst themselves. It doesn't take long for a specific dealer to be labeled a "bad" dealer for not being very "EV friendly". Conversely, the dealers who have provided good service to their EV customers have benefited from a high number of referrals. The dealers who train their staff to understand these new cars, provide free on-site charging, and offer electric loaners are the ones who are really going to succeed in the new electric frontier.

Breaking: BMW i3 REx Not Tax Exempt in NJ After All!

My i3 REx. Will it now cost me $3,900 more than my contract calls for?

It what can only be categorized as a major misstep, BMW of North America has announced that the i3 with range extender is not tax exempt in the state of New Jersey as what was previously reported. Back on January 27th, BMW of North America manager of Electric Vehicle sales and strategy Jacob Harb told his client advisers on a conference call that the i3 REx would be treated as a zero emission vehicle in New Jersey, and qualify for the state's Zero Emission tax exemption. That was big news at the time for New Jersey residents including myself, and was one of the final deciding factors for me to actually choose the REx version over the BEV i3.

"The sales tax exemption in NJ only applies to zero-emission vehicles--and as such, does not apply to the i3 with range-extender as it does not apply currently to any vehicle with an internal combustion engine."... "Any assumption that the i3 with range-extender would qualify was premature" 
Dave Buchko, BMW's product and technology communications


The misinformation was further reinforced at the BMW i3 dealer training event held at BMW headquarters in Woodcliff Lake in April when the client advisers were again told that the i3 REx would be sales tax exempt in New Jersey. Now that BMW has begun delivering i3s with the range extender in the State since last week, the dealers haven't been collecting sales tax on the cars since they were instructed that they didn't have to. I'm one of the people that took delivery already and didn't pay sales tax. It's unclear if BMW is going to now ask me to go back to the dealer and pay the additional $3,900.00 I'd owe for sales tax. I'm not even sure they can do that. I have a signed contract that is paid in full and I wonder where the law stands on this. I don't even know if I'd want to keep it if I have to pay the sales tax now. Don't get me wrong; I love the car, and I think the REx is a great option, but this will double the cost of the range extender. Instead of it costing me $3,850, it will cost me about $7,750! It really is a great option and so far I have loved how well it works, but it's just not worth $7,750 in my opinion. I could buy a good used second car for less than that and use it for the long trips I need to take.

Then there are the people that have an i3 REx on order here in NJ and haven't taken delivery yet, what will they do? At the last minute they find out the car is now costing them nearly $4,000 more! My good friend Chris Neff's car just arrived at the dealer yesterday and he's planning on picking it up as soon as possible. I wonder how he's going to react to it now costing him nearly $4,000 more! My client adviser Manny Antunes of JMK BMW has nine i3s with the REx options on order for customers. How many will cancel their order when they find this out? I bet at least half of them. What happens to the people like me that have signed contracts, and paid for the car already? I wonder where the law stands on this? Can we now be forced to pay more than our contracts stipulate? Personally I'm not sure what I'll do if I'm told I have to pay the $3,900 now. Will BMW NA eat the extra cost for the few people that already took delivery of their REx in NJ? Will they push it on the dealers? Perhaps this was a sign that I was really meant to get the BEV i3 after all. I've already tinted the windows and now my car is being wrapped a new color at Designer Wraps down in Millville, NJ. Will JMK BMW end up with a custom-colored, Electronaut Edition i3 REx to sell as I wait another few months for a new i3 BEV to be made and delivered? This is going to be very interesting, stay tuned!

More Range Extender Details Uncovered At BMW i Dealer Training

BMW has been hosting i3 training events to get their client advisers up to speed and ready to sell the car. I'm very happy to hear they are doing this because I was really beginning to get concerned that they wouldn't properly prepare their sales staff for this unique vehicle. I even dedicated a post a few months ago to this very topic. I've now talked to a few client advisers that have done the training and they reported that they did indeed get a lot of useful information which will help them service their clients.

The i3's tiny fuel tank is seen here at right in front of the battery pack in the center of the car.  This is where the heat pump is located and why you cannot get the heat pump if you have an i3 REx

This week the latest round of training sessions are being held up at BMW headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, NJ and details of what is being taught are starting to leak out from some of the client advisers that are there. A couple things of interest shared were details about the range extender the i3 will offer as an option.

First, it was learned that the range extender is automatically activated once the state of charge drops below 6.5%. At that moment, it turns on and it's function is to bring the state of charge back up to 6.5% and to maintain that level of charge. It will not charge the car much above 6.5%, and it will not run if the car is stopped, unless the state of charge is critically low. Therefore you can't it in a stationary i3 and wait for the state of charge to increase. I knew the automatic turn on point was around 5% to 6%, but now we have an exact level when it engages.

US i3 REx customers wish they had the European "hold" feature available

You cannot manually turn the range extender off. This is contrary to what I was told by an i3 product manager at the i3 debut in New York City last July. I remember asking this specific question by saying "What if I knew I'd make it home on electric, say I only had a mile or two to go and the REx was about to turn on, could I just turn it off so it's doesn't fire up?" I was told yes, there will be a setting that will allow you to turn it off before it engages, but that setting will reset once you turn the car off. The reason for that is so that the next time you get in the car you won't forget that you had turned off the REx and you may end up needing it. I would have definitely preferred to be able to turn it off manually, and honestly can't see why that isn't going to be allowed.

The range extender exhaust is tucked away under the car so you can't see the tailpipe unless you crawl underneath to look

We also found out that the client advisers have been told that while the range extender is in operation the speed of the car will be electronically limited to 70mph. I'm not buying that; I think they were misinformed. I really think there was a miscommunication on this one because I have had conversations with people at BMW that know a lot about this and even very recently they assured me that there isn't an electronically governed speed limit while the range extender is in operation. I believe the confusion about 70mph is based on the fact that 70mph is basically the top speed that the range extender can comfortably maintain the 6.5% state of charge at while driving on relatively flat ground. The people I've talked to in Europe that have i3's with the range extender say they can drive on the highway at just about 120 km/hr (75mph) and maintain the SOC, but anything higher and the SOC will gradually diminish. It's my contention that the people running the training sessions either aren't 100% clear on this, or they really meant for the client advisers to warn the customers that 70mph is really the fastest they should drive at if they need to drive for a long distance. In any event, I believe they got this one wrong and there isn't an electronic limit, we'll find out pretty soon since the US i3 launch should be in about two weeks.

The BMW i3 range extender is located next to the electric motor and power electronics, over the rear axle.

I saved the biggest news for last. It was learned that the US version of the i3 REx will have not have a 2.4 gallon gas tank as the European version does. Instead it will have only a 1.9 gallon gas tank. I'm going to pause for a moment to let everybody scream bloody murder now...... I know it's only half a gallon, but in the case of the i3, that just reduced the gas tank by 21%! For me this is a non-issue, but I know there are a lot of people that will not like this at all. 99% of the time I use the added range of the REx it will likely be for less than 40 miles. Yes, this does reduce the utility of long range trips even more, as you will now probably have to stop for gas every 40 or 50 miles. There was no reasons given for the smaller gas tank but as far as I can imagine, this comes down to one of two things. Since BMW wants needs the i3 REx to qualify as a BEVx and one of the qualifications of the BEVx is that the car has a smaller gasoline range than it does electric range, my thinking is that one of these two things led to the smaller gas tank:

1) The EPA rating for all electric range on the REx came out lower than they believed it would. If they used the 2.4 gallon gas tank, the gas range would be slightly longer than the all electric range, therefore causing it to be disqualified for the BEVx designation. The only simple way to make the gas range less than the electric range was to reduce the gas range by using a smaller gas tank.

2) The EPA rating for the MPG while in range extender mode came out higher than expected, creating the same problem cited above; a longer range in REx mode than in all electric mode. I've heard it gets anywhere from 36mpg to 46mpg from people driving REx's in Europe so this is a possibility. If the range extender got rated at 40mpg, and was using a 2.4 gallon gas tank, then the electric range would need to be 96 miles per charge, which is highly unlikely. If they cut the tank down to 1.9 gallons, then the electric range would only need to be greater than 79 miles per charge, which I believe is attainable, even considering that the REx version will have 6.5% less battery to use than the BEV i3 does, as this is held in reserve as a buffer.

So what do you think? Has any of these new revelations changed you mind about the REx?

BMW i3 Training Autocross Video

*Hat tip to insideevs.com for finding this first!


BMW has been holding i3 training events to get the new BMW Product Geniuses up to speed on what they need to know about the car. As I have written here many times, there is so much about this car that is completely different than anything BMW has ever sold before that they really need to dive deep into the training of their client advisers and especially these new Product Geniuses. As good as the car is, if they fail to have the ability to properly help the customer decide if the car is right for them, then they won't sell nearly as many as they could have. This is going to have to play itself out before we can gauge if BMW did indeed do everything they could have to give the dealers the tools they need to sell these vehicles.

However in my opinion this video is promising. Not only is BMW holding training sessions where the Product Geniuses will learn about he cars, but they are getting the chance to take once out and do an autocrossing session in one. Plus, in addition to getting to drive in the i3, they also get to drive in a couple i3 competitors, like Chevy Volts and Nissan LEAFs while they are there so they can see how much better the i3 performs.

I assume the above video was taken by one of the Product Geniuses during one of the training sessions and posted on YouTube. It's not a professional quality video by any means, but it does show he was indeed impressed with the i3's performance.  

My New Side Job: BMW i Dealer Training

It's -2 degrees F here in Canada and I'm talking BMW i3 at Budd's BMW in Oakville!

I've written a few posts on my blogs about how poorly many dealerships have done when it comes to selling their electric car offerings. I blasted Nissan and GM pretty good a while back and had hoped that BMW would learn from the mistakes the other OEM's made when they rolled their EV's into their dealers' showrooms. However I'm starting to wonder if that will be the case.

Electric cars are different in so many ways. If the sales team isn't prepared for the onslaught of questions that they are going to get hit with as soon as the i3 becomes available to order, then it will not only hurt sales of the i3 but it will certainly tarnish the BMW brand image. BMW dealers will have an even tougher time than the other brands had in my opinion because the i3 isn't just an electric car, it really is a revolutionary vehicle. Besides the typical EV questions about the car's anticipated range, battery life, battery management, the effects of weather on the battery, charging, etc, they also have to explain the unique architecture with the carbon fiber and aluminum construction and the thermoplastic skin. How will it respond in an accident? How expensive will it be to repair? Why are the tires so skinny and will they perform well? And that's before they even begin asking about the range extender. Can it drive up a long hill at highway speeds? Can I simply refill it with gas and keep going? Why can't it be turned on manually? Does the waste heat from the engine warm the cabin? What is the maintenance schedule? And so on...

I've been working with JMK BMW in Springfield to help get them ready for the i3 also.

When I first heard about the new "Genius Everywhere" program that BMW was launching I really thought they had solved the dealer problem. It sounded brilliant and I figured these "Geniuses" would be thoroughly trained about the i3 and be able to assist a BMW client adviser with any issue or question about the i3 that a potential customer would have. However once I learned a little more about the program I started to wonder. The Geniuses are there to assist not only with BMW i questions, but technical questions on all BMW products.  Yikes I thought, that's a lot of information for them to absorb. Yes, they will have fancy iPads in hand to help them pull up info that they don't know off the top of their head but still, BMW has a lot of vehicles in their lineup now, and even a "Genius" has their limit. Then came the real concerning revelation. I started getting emails and private messages from BMW "Geniuses". They reached me though this blog and the BMW i3 forums on the internet where I post regularly and answer questions about the i3. After completing Genius training they felt they didn't know enough about the i3 to be comfortable, so they were reaching out to me to help answer questions they had. The worrisome part, is the questions they have are basic, generic electric vehicle questions. If they weren't taught this stuff then they will likely be no help at all to the dealers. In fact one person said this when describing how he feels about going to his designated dealership if someone asks him anything about the i3: "I feel like I'm being blind folded while walking into a room!" This isn't good to hear and believe me it gives me no pleasure at all to have to report it.

In addition to the Geniuses asking me for help, I have recently been getting emails from BMW dealerships asking me questions about the i3. They say BMW has promised them support for the i brand, but they haven't gotten it yet and people are now starting to call and come in to ask for i3 and i8 information and they don't have anything. I have even been asked to come to a couple of dealerships to help train the staff. One dealer in particular, Budds' BMW in Oakville, Canada really wanted me to come and give them a crash course in the i3. They flew me to Toronto and paid me to spend the whole day there and instruct three training sessions. I didn't do it for the money. I really just wanted to help them out since they clearly want to establish themselves as the area's premier BMW i dealer. They were willing to go the extra mile to fly me out there and pay me to help train them and I respect that so I went. The day went really well, and I'm sure they learned a lot about the i3. The following day I got emails from both the dealership manager and the owner and they both thanked me and were so pleased with how the training went they indicated that they would like me to come back to help them more once they get closer to the i3 launch. I have to say they were all really great people up there and I will certainly continue to help them if they ask.

It's not too late to get everybody up to speed, but the clock is ticking. The i brand launches in a couple of months and there is a LOT of ground to cover. I'll continue to help out when I can and in fact I have another dealership training set up for next week. I won't mention which dealer because I didn't ask them if I could talk about it.  Budds' was fine with me talking about this, and they really should be in my opinion. I commend them for wanting to be prepared. They are obviously a forward-thinking, progressive dealership that wants to have a competitive advantage and I really respect that. The next few months should be very interesting. I guess I'll know how well BMW is doing in preparing their dealer network for the i3 by how many phone calls for help that I get! I really hope they do it well. BMW put so much into the development of the i3 and i8, it would be a shame to have them do poorly because they didn't help their dealers get prepared for these unique and ground-breaking, cars.

Strong Turnout at JMK BMW For i3 Drive Event

One of the i3's at JMK before they needed to take it off the showroom floor to use for test drives. I'd guess at least 50 test drives were given during the day.

Manny Antunes, JMK BMW client adviser and BMW i3 specialist admitted he was overwhelmed with the amount of people that came to check out and drive the i3's the dealership had for the day last Thursday. BMW gave JMK two i3's for the day and the original plan was to leave one on the showroom floor and use the other one for test drives. However as soon as the day began it became clear they needed both cars for test drives because there were so many people there that signed up to drive an i3. Manny did a great job and was at it all day. He didn't even stop for lunch as there was a line of people waiting all day for test drives.

Manny Antunes & I after a long day

The problem was, once they took the car off the showroom floor there was nothing there for the people waiting for their turn to test drive one to look at. Plus since Manny had to use another client adviser to accompany the customers in the test drives, there really wasn't even anybody from the dealership that could stand there and take on all the i3 questions. However that's exactly why he asked me to stop by, just in case they needed help with answering questions about the i3 or electric cars in general. I usually never mind talking about electric cars, but even I was worn out after over 8 hours of nonstop questions from the 100 or so people that came to see and drive the i3.

Even with running both cars not everybody got to drive one, since both cars drove well over 150 miles they needed to be charged a few times during the day to keep them going. Witnessing the strong demand for test drives was very promising. The range of people I talked to was also surprisingly varied. There were Nissan LEAF owners as well as people that have never even driven in an electric car but had heard about the i3 and were interested in buying one. We also had about six ActiveE drivers stop by to take another look before they decide to place their order for the Electronaut Edition i3 or not.

I'm really happy Manny and JMK reached out to me to give them a hand with the i3 launch. The i3 is going to be like nothing that BMW dealers have ever had to deal with before. Dealers that understand this and reach out for help will be the ones that excel with the i brand and sell a lot of i3's. Nissan and Chevy went through the same thing when they launched their electric car offerings. Some of their dealers are selling plenty of LEAF's and Volt's, yet other dealers in the same markets sell very little. What is the difference? Being prepared. Knowing the product and training the client advisers to know what questions to expect will make all the difference. I know JMK BMW is taking this serious and I'm sure they are going to be one of the areas leading i brand dealerships. Wherever you live, if you are thinking about getting an i3 check out a few of your local BMW dealerships and feel them out a bit. Make sure you find one that is making an effort to really know the i3 and have people on hand that can answer the unique questions that battery electric cars have. If your dealer doesn't know the difference in level 1 and level 2 charging, or they don't know the details of the i3 battery warranty then my recommendation would be to look elsewhere.

It was a crazy hectic day, but it was really great to see how many people came out to test drive this truly revolutionary new BMW.

JMK BMW To Host The Area's First "i3 EVent"

 

On Thursday, January 16th, (tomorrow) JMK BMW in Springfield NJ is hosting a "Get to know the BMW i3" event from 10:00am to 7:00pm. For most, it will be the very first time they have the opportunity to actually see the i3 in person and test drive it. JMK client adviser and i3 product specialist Manny Antunes will be there to answer questions and take reservations on the spot if you decide to order an i3 while you are there.

I have been working with JMK to help prepare them for the coming i brand cars and have already ordered my i3 through JMK. I appreciate that JMK recognizes that these cars are different, and will elicit different questions and concerns from their potential buyers so I have personally tried to help prepare them for these potential issues. It's encouraging that they understand this and have reached out to make sure they can offer the best possible customer experience and service.  That is why I recommend considering JMK if you are from the area and considering an i3 or i8.


I will also be there for most of the day to help answer questions and provide information to anybody interested in my personal experience driving and living with an electric car. I hope to see you there and please introduce yourself to me if you've been following my blog, I love to meet the readers in person.


Event Details:


JMK BMW "Get to know the i3" Event
JMK BMW
391-399 Route 22, Springfield, New Jersey 07081