The highlight listing of the domestic version of the X5 has allowed BMW to start the offensive journey of product strategy in the second quarter of this year. But no one ever thought that on the night of the listing conference, when the X5 ushered in a piece of flowers and applause, the "special guest" new BMW i3 unexpectedly chose to appear in a low-key manner, and then announced that it would be listed together, becoming the biggest "Easter egg" of the night. Thoughtfully, the new i3 in front of us seems to have nothing to do with the exquisite hatchback we once remembered.
Turning the old calendar open, the time goes back to nine years ago.
At the 2013 Munich Motor Show, as in previous years, the launch of a number of blockbuster new cars attracted the world's attention, and the BMW booth was as always surrounded by a group of die-hard loyalists. However, due to the high-profile announcement of the price of the first pure electric model i3, there seems to be a lot of new faces on the booth. Infinitely close to the dream appearance of the concept car, gorgeous folio doors, forward-looking "360 ° electric concept" after-sales service... In that era of the embryonic of electrification, no matter from which point of view, the i3 can be regarded as a "forward-looking" product, and for BMW itself, it is also of great epoch-making significance.
Nine years is not a long time, but it is enough time for the transition from fossil fuels to electrification. At the beginning of the birth of i3, "Li Xiaowei" has not yet been born, the old rival Mercedes-Benz Audi still enjoys the "joy of heaven" of the powerful product camp in the era of fuel vehicles, and now Tesla, which dominates the global new energy vehicle market, has just left the shell of Lotus and achieved a real start with Model S. The i3, which has few direct competitors, in order to further expand the sales path, was soon added to solve the endurance anxiety of the extended range version.
Although the original i3 in the 7-year iteration cycle, did not have the outstanding product strength and strong brand aura, and finally obtained the same sales results. However, the car buyer believes that in addition to the niche positioning of the car and the slightly higher pricing, the fundamental reason is that in the era environment, people have a limited level of cognition of new energy vehicles.
With the emergence of endless new forces in recent years, as well as the traditional car companies to fully move towards "electrification", the market continues to breed a batch of new products of various kinds to stimulate the visual nerves of consumers, at this time i3 has gradually become an ordinary member of the vast "electric sea". In January this year, BMW officially announced that when the last i3 left the Leipzig factory in July 2022, this epoch-making car will be officially "honorably retired".
The suspension of the original i3, in addition to the regret of the car buyer, more thought of the stark contrast formed by the new i3.
In fact, on the eve of the launch of the BMW X5, the official promotional poster appeared in the figure of the new i3, but because there was no warm-up information before, and the i3 in the poster only showed a black shadow after revealing two sets of headlights, no one would notice that this was an additional model in addition to the X5.
At the press conference, the new i3 returned as a localization and announced its listing, and only launched an eDrive 35L model priced at 349,900 yuan. The i3 positioned by the mid-size car is actually a substitute for the BMW 3 series in the field of new energy, and the competitors are also very clear, that is, tesla Model 3, Weilai ET5 and other industry leaders.
This i3 is not the other i3, the new i3 in addition to the original i3 name, can be said to have no intersection, but with the current 3 series has an inextricable connection.
The two share a platform, collinear production, and even the appearance is almost the same. Although the new i3 bears the identity of "oil to electricity" that is not optimistic about the market, it resolutely chooses to introduce it into the market today in 2022, but it still comes after all.
Nowadays, we look back and find that the original i3 or i8 can only be regarded as BMW's early test knife in the field of electrification, and the real "elephant turn" is at least from the launch of the iX3 in 2020.
The new i3 is more like the epitome of BMW's electrification revolution again.
Rather than being a "rebuild" after BMW's early exploration path met a bumper, the new i3 is more of a "rebirth" attached to the product strategy after resource integration. Although the i3 rushed to the market, somewhat "catch the duck on the shelves", but at least reversed the next full-brand multi-product matrix lack of internal systematization, unification of the unfavorable situation, the previous iX3 is, i4 is also, they together for BMW's next more new product launch to make a strong preparation. After all, for BMW, with a start, it also needs a process of growth.
In the past three years, the evaluation of traditional car companies in the field of electrification has changed from "retaining strength" and "disdainful" to "having more than enough and not having enough". It is true that whether it is Tesla or "Li Xiaowei", the performance in the new energy market is extremely eye-catching, but it is not known that they are actually a new force, with stronger creativity and no worries about the advantages of market expansion.
Focusing on the new era, not only for bmw brands, including BBA and other first-line luxury brands, we cannot deny that they have absolute strength in the field of fuel vehicles, but under the great changes in electrification that have not been seen in a hundred years, no one can escape being under the same running line and facing the competition of the new track. Both to consider the benchmarking with Mercedes-Benz Audi products and to resist the aggressive offensive of new forces, the pressure of BMW can be imagined.
Summary: Even if the entire industry is still suffering from various unfavorable factors such as the epidemic and the shortage of raw materials, 2022 is still a very critical year for the electrification layout of the global market. As the first quarter drifted away, there was not much time left for BMW in the layout of the electrification field. BMW's next road, it is better to temporarily put aside the "competitive spirit" compared with the old opponent, and shake off the collateral of fuel products, light load, and do a big job!
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