BMW i3 concept of how the new electric car will look. Image via BMW
Luxury car-maker BMW has started an aggressive global marketing campaign to tease drivers about its first mass-production all-electric car. Live broadcast events were held simultaneously in London, New York and Beijing yesterday to market the new electric vehicle (EV), which – according to reports – could be unleashed to tech-savvy consumers, with cash to splash, in 2014. Check out the campaign video push here.
The BMW i3 will be the first series-produced vehicle from BMW i – the brand that launched in February 2011.
Speaking from New York yesterday, Norbert Reithofer, BMW AG’s chairman of the board of management, said the company was
“at the starting-blocks of a new era – the era of sustainable mobility”.
Describing New York as America’s “premier mega-city”, with more than 8.3m inhabitants, Reithofer said he was “delighted” to present, for the first time, the BMW i3.
“Today, the BMW i3 marks the beginning of a new mobility age,” he said. “To put this into perspective, take a look at the mobile phone in your pocket. We had more than 100 years of landline telephones. Then came the mobile phone and it completely changed how we interact with our world. The mobile phone opened up business opportunities that no one would have believed possible.”
BMW i3 is coming soon to a city near you, according to the auto giant. Image via BMW i Facebook page
Learning from the mobile era
Reithofer said what the mobile phone did for communication, electric mobility will do for individual mobility.
He said that before designing the new EV, BMW carried out extensive research in some of the world’s megacities and also spent “thousands” of hours talking with customers.
“From the start, we redesigned our entire development and production processes. The BMW i3 is purpose-built around an electric powertrain to serve the needs of our megacity customers.”
According to BMW, the new BMW i3 will pave the way for new R&D in the automotive industry.
“Carbon fibre components are bonded together in a fully automated process. The bonding techniques we have developed in-house are setting new industry standards,” explained Reithofer.
Global marketing push, as BMW aims to capitalise on clean technology
The marketing campaign for the new BMW i3 started worldwide yesterday. This included a standard international online presence focused on the launch film, a redesigned website with configurator and the company’s first print ads. Social network communications are also marketing the new vehicle.
BMW said its corresponding TV campaign will debut in November to coincide with the BMW i3’s pan-European market launch.
Drivers who are interested in testing this electric vehicle can register via BMW i’s Facebook page, as well as other social networks.
And, technology wise, the BMW i app for Android, iPhone and iPad will also be available with extended functionality from mid-August.
Apparently, this revamped app will feature location-based visualisation of the BMW i3 range, a photo gallery, a visualiser with 360° interior views of the new EV, plus a tool for arranging test drives.
BMW i3 will feature BMW ConnectedDrive and BMW EfficientDynamics energy-management tools. Image via BMW i Facebook page
