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BMW i3, i8 sales strong enough to reach almost 17,800 in 2014

BMW makes its futuristic i brand vehicles – the i3 and i8 – at a plant in Leipzig, Germany. But the customers most willing to buy one of these plug-in cars live in the country where the lightweight carbon fiber used in the body structure is made: the United States. Speaking at the Detroit Auto Show this week, Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management at BMW AG, said, "The US is already our largest market for our electric vehicles, the BMW i3 and BMW i8. Worldwide, we sold close to 18,000 BMW i models last year. Nearly three-quarters of these sales occurred in the second half of the year, when the global rollout – including the US – really got underway. Demand for these vehicles continues to be high and I'm delighted that we've been able to increase production to meet that demand." That sounds great, but the numbers aren't huge. BMW sold 6,092 i3s and 555 i8s (for a total of 6,647 i vehicles) in the US last year. Globally, BMW sold over two million vehicles in 2014, and 17,793 of those were plug-in i vehicles (16,052 of the i3 and 1,741 i8s). The production increase wasn't huge. BMW was making just 10 i8 vehicles a day at the beginning, but doubled that to 20 last fall. Since last spring (around April or May), the company has been making over 100 i3s a day, BMW spokesperson Verena Von L'estocq tells AutoblogGreen. Getting production right this first year has meant slow going, but "We're comfortable now," she said, adding that BMW expects more production increases in the future. Related Video:

2015 BMW M3 is fast for the family man

BMW finally brought its four-door M3 into the public view, showing the new sedan off at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show. The new M3 represents BMW's return to small, wildly fast four-door sedans after a several year absence following the discontinuation of the E90 M3 Sedan way back in 2011.
The M3 enjoys the same 425-horsepower, 3.0-liter six-cylinder used in the M4, with 406 pound-feet of torque and the owner's choice of either an old-fashioned six-speed manual or a seven-speed M dual-clutch transmission. All told, the new powertrain should scoot the four-door M to 60 in a mere 3.9 seconds (with the M DCT).
We've got a full gallery of live images of the all-new M3 up above, and we've included the original stock gallery down below. Feel free to peruse either, and then let us know what you think by sounding off down in Comments.

BMW NA president says i3 beats Tesla EVs thanks to lighter all-around footprint

Those waiting for a full-out brawl between Tesla Motors head Elon Musk and BMW North America chief Ludwig Willisch will have to wait a bit. For the bloodthirsty, there are signs of some healthy competition and a little bit of green-car sniping between the two automakers. Willisch, speaking at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this month and responding to questions about Tesla, noted (without mentioning that company by name) that the production process of the German automaker's i3 plug-in was "greener" than any other. According to Business Insider, Willisch highlighted the fully recyclable materials used to construct the i3 as well as the hydropower used at the carbon fiber plant in Moses Lake, WA. Willisch also noted that the Tesla Model S is "very heavy on the braking. Our car feels just like a normal car. That's a big difference when it comes to driving," Automotive News said in a separate report. The latter model weighs about a third less than the Tesla, though it also has an EV range about a third as big. The BMW executive did allow that the Tesla did make a good proverbial "snowplow," not for its driving characteristics but for its ability to get more people conformable with electric vehicle technology. Musk was asked about the i3 in an August conference call and laughed before noting that the i3 had "room to improve." No word on whether Musk and Willisch will be sending each other Valentine's Day cards next month.