BMW are playing down the fact that some senior team members have left and are now employed by a Chinese electric company. An insider claimed that personnel move around all the time and those that have left would be replaced.
In conversations at the Geneva motor show, it was revealed that internal debates were taking place regarding the production of the next i product. One thing that was made clear was that the next release is some time away. It is likely to be the i5 and along with the i8 Spider will not be available for around three years.
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According to Autocar, the i8 Coupe is going to be refreshed and as a result range and power will be increased due to the use of an electric motor and powerful battery pack. There will not be any new developments other than these for the foreseeable future.
Sales have been poor for the i3 and those that have been made have been won through hard work.
If there are no subsidies for the electric vehicles, then there are not as many sales, and understandably BMW doesn’t want to push themselves until they are sure they will be able to sell the cars. It also makes sense to hold back on future investment although there are stories circulating about the German government offering incentives to those selling electric or battery operated cars. As this progresses, there could be a new wave of investment and development, leading to more none petrol using vehicles for sale.