BMW is losing its creativity.
Written by: CH_ Chen Han
On the last day of last month, at the much-anticipated launch of the domestic BMW X5, bmw brilliance i3 made a low-key debut and was immediately listed, with an official guidance price of 349,900 yuan.
If we go back to 2014, when the epoch-making BMW i3 we are familiar with was named one of the "25 Best Inventions of 2014" by Time Magazine, who would have thought that 8 years later, it would be a "high-grade oil to electricity" Chinese special supply car that had nothing to do with it.
BMW obviously also knows that the current BMW Brilliance i3 blood is not correct, it is like bmw's illegitimate son, to be responsible for fighting the country, but can not inherit the unification, and even does not deserve to have an exclusive conference.
From the BMW i3 to the BMW Brilliance i3, we can see bmw's powerlessness and sadness in the era of electrification.
01
BMW i3, once the tide of the times
In 2011, BMW's sub-brand "BMW i" for electric was born, and at the Frankfurt Motor Show in the same year, the BMW i3 and BMW i8 concept cars made a stunning appearance, showing the world BMW's whimsy and technical strength on the road to electrification.
Two years later, in 2013, the BMW i3 was successfully put into production in Leipzig, Germany, becoming the first production car in the BMW i series and the first pure electric vehicle that BMW really mass-produced.
BMW i3, once the most dazzling trend of that era, it pursues the extreme, it breaks the convention, it does not care about the cost, it makes people shine, "It turns out that the car can still cause this"! Looking back at the BMW i3, which was born 10 years ago, its design, its environmental philosophy, and its pursuit of lightweight and electric driving experience will not become obsolete in the present.
The BMW i3 is a pure electric small car developed in the pure direction, which is based on the "LifeDrive" module architecture built by BMW for the two i-series electric vehicles at that time, where "Life" represents the crew compartment part and uses a large number of ultra-lightweight and high-strength CFRP carbon fiber composite materials; and "Drive" represents the chassis part, which uses a lot of aluminum materials.
As the world's first mass-produced model using a carbon fiber body, the BMW i3 not only led the trend, but also achieved the ultimate in lightweight. The BMW i3 is 4006mm long, 1775mm wide, 1600mm high, has a wheelbase of 2570mm, and has a pure electric version with a 19kWh battery and a complete weight of only 1.195 tons. For comparison, the Volkswagen Pole Cross, which is also a small car but has a slightly smaller body size, has an overall weight of 1.135 tons.
There are so many flashes on the BMW i3, and the carbon fiber body is just one of them.
In order to pursue energy saving and environmental protection, bmw i3 not only uses a large number of environmentally friendly materials in the car, but also uses a strange size of "motorcycle tires", front wheel size 155/70R19, rear wheel size 155/60 R19.
In pursuit of styling differentiation, BMW not only gave the i3 a unique body proportion and a new design language, but also equipped with a cool frameless door and a two-door door.
In order to pursue higher space utilization, the BMW i3 not only has a front trunk, but also uses a pocket block and runs through the front and rear floors.
In pursuit of the driving experience, the BMW i3 not only uses a rear-drive motor layout to guarantee a 50:50 body counterweight, but also innovatively applies a "single pedal mode".
In order to pursue intelligence, bmw i3 can not only network online applications, car navigation can display the remaining power and charging pile information to reach the destination, can use mobile phones to send navigation addresses to the car machine, and can optionally have a collision warning function with brake function and active cruise control system with stop and start function.
In order to reduce the user's mileage anxiety, BMW also prepared a range extender model for the i3, adding a 0.65L range extender under the compact rear axle, so that its comprehensive endurance can reach nearly 300km.
Although limited by the technical level of that year, the pure electric mileage of the BMW i3 is only less than 200km, coupled with the high price, it is destined to be only a niche model, but this does not weaken the important position of the BMW i3 in the history of the world's automobiles, especially in the history of the world's electric vehicles.
From the BMW i3 of that year, we saw the moving design, leading technology, shocking innovation and unlimited expectations for the future of electrification.
02
BMW Brilliance i3, lagging behind the times of "advanced oil to electricity"
Break the good memories and let's go back to the harsh reality.
When this BMW Brilliance i3 is placed in front of us, I believe that no one will feel surprised and expected again.
Theoretically, BMW Brilliance i3 can not be regarded as oil to electricity, but at least it must be regarded as a "high-grade oil to electricity". Because although it has the same platform as the BMW 3 Series, BMW's CLAR platform has considered the needs of pure electric models at the beginning of planning. Moreover, probably to put in a larger battery, the BMW Brilliance i3 has increased in body size and wheelbase compared to the BMW 3 Series, and the frames of the two cars are not exactly the same.
However, compared with the model based on the pure electric platform, the "gasoline smell" on bmw brilliance i3 is still too strong, the appearance, interior design and BMW 3 series are basically the same, the biggest change is only the same iX double screen, the rear floor still retains the high bulge.
The whole car makes people unable to find freshness and excitement, and the shock when the i3 was released is simply a world away.
If the model design of BMW Brilliance i3 can also argue that the pursuit of stability leads to lack of creativity, then its configuration and price are appropriate and sincere.
Brilliance BMW i3 has only one model in its entire series, the price of 349,900 is not expensive at first glance, considering that it can be exempt from purchase tax, the purchase cost is basically comparable to the low-end BMW 325Li, but it has the same 6.2s to break the hundred power with the 330i, and the rear axle is equipped with air suspension, and the pure electric mileage is also 526km (CLTC working conditions).
Only when you open its configuration table will you find the "cat grease" behind the price. As a pure electric model priced at 300,000 yuan, BMW Brilliance i3 even has to be selected without a key to enter, and packaged with the electric tailgate into a comfortable set, with an optional price of 8400 yuan.
In addition, the optional price for front seat heating is 3500, the front seat waist rest is 1400, the active cruise control system is 5900, the traffic safety assist system is 8200, the automatic driving assistance system Pro 19900, the automatic parking assistance system Plus 8600, the high beam automatic control is 3200, the on-board driving recorder is 1900, the automatic anti-glare rearview mirror is 4500... A little bit of selection, the actual landing price of BMW Brilliance i3 is running to 400,000.
The above is a comparison chart of the parameters and configurations of BMW Brilliance i3 and Weilai ET5 circulating on the Internet, which of the two cars is more sincere, which is more worthy of purchase, and the clear-eyed people will know at a glance.
It may be that my brand belief is not pure enough, and I really can't think of any reason to buy a BMW Brilliance i3. Really like BMW, it is better to buy fuel BMW 3 Series, the power is weaker, but the same price configuration is higher. If you really want to buy an electric mid-size car, it is better to choose Tesla Model 3, Weilai ET7/ET5, Xiaopeng P7, which may not have BMW's brand blessing or exquisite workmanship, but can definitely bring a better and more up-to-date car experience.
03
The grief of BMW electrification
"As soon as the traditional car companies exert their strength, there will be no Tesla and new forces."
Since at least 3 years ago, we have often seen similar remarks on the Internet. In the eyes of many people, traditional car companies such as BBA can't sell Tesla and new domestic car-making forces in the electric vehicle market, just because they don't have the power, they are not optimistic about electric vehicles, or they have not completed the "elephant turn".
However, in BMW, which launched the "BMW i" exclusive brand of electric vehicle 10 years ago, we see another side of the truth.
Over the years, BMW has not been without effort, bmw i3, i8, before BMW brilliance i3, there are iX3, iX and i4, but unfortunately, it is really a can play none.
From BMW i3 to BMW Brilliance i3, BMW's leading edge on the electrification road of "getting up early and catching up with a late set" has been ruthlessly surpassed by Tesla and the new domestic head car-making forces, and what is even more regrettable is that BMW, which is rising in sales, is becoming "aging" and losing creativity.
In the past, the traditional luxury brands led by BBA always brought us the strongest performance, the latest technology and the most expectations, but now BBA has been left behind by the trend of electrification and intelligence, and has become a safe but backward and boring choice.
And many traditional manufacturers seem to be still doing the dream that "luxury brands and joint venture brands should be more expensive than Chinese brands", but they have not asked themselves, in the era of electrification, what are they?
In the past, BMW has made countless Bimmers crazy and dead set on it. Today's BMW, both abandoning the pursuit of the pleasure of driving control, and giving up the legendary model i3, what should it take to maintain the faith of fans and maintain the premium of the brand?
Today's topic
Do you choose the BMW i3 or the Model 3?
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