The German concern BMW AG has, for the first time, outpaced the American company Tesla in the sale of electric cars in the European Union.

  • person420@lemmynsfw.com
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    2 months ago

    It’s something I’ve been considering getting but the one thing that really gets me about it is it’s essentially an ICE car with its engine swapped out for a battery and electric motor. It’s so big and heavy.

    I haven’t gotten to test drive one yet, so maybe it doesn’t feel as bad when driving. I know not really the same class (though surprisingly close in cost) but I’ve been leaning towards the mach e GT (one thing Tesla got right is their supercharger network and Ford can take advantage of that).

    I’m also half hoping they come out with a sedan built from the ground up as an EV. I considered the i4, but at that price there’s a lot of great cars that would probably be better.

    Did your company buy them or lease? I don’t think I can bring myself to actually buy an EV. I’m still not sure how the battery will be in 10+ years.

    • vapeloki@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      We are leasing our cars.

      Regarding the feel: The car does feel surprisingly light. Besides his 2.2 metric tons.

      At least here in Europe, the Tesla superchargers work with the car.

      Not sure if this generation is already available in the US. I am german, so BMW is a natural choice ;).

      Currently, BMW is using the same base for combustion and electric cars to safe costs ans be more flexible how to fit the chassis. That may be a reason for the success.

      Nor sure how the price in the US is, the list price for my nearly fully equipped i5 is around 90k€. The only thing I am missing is the pneumatic dampeners. They come only with red or blue breaks, and company policy does not allow for “racing looks”.

      • person420@lemmynsfw.com
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        2 months ago

        Yea, that’s more or less the same cost a fully loaded i5 would be in the US. Works out to be about 15k more than the normal 5 series, more or less.

        Currently only Ford and Rivian can use Tesla chargers in the US. BMW, Mercedes and a bunch of others have announced partnerships with Tesla late 2023 / early 2024 but they haven’t released the adapters or technically allowed to use it just yet.

        I’m absolutely in love with the i7 (the 7 series in general), but the i5 is the closest I’ll get and even then it’s really hard to justify since I really don’t drive a whole lot.