BMW to Offer EV Buyers Access to Piston-Powered Vehicles

BMW AG plans to offer customers who buy its i3 electric city car the ability to borrow a larger conventionally powered car on weekends or for long trips, Bloomberg News reports. The news service cites company comments at a conference in Germany but provides no details.

Last week Fiat SpA announced a free similar service for buyers of its 500e electric city car, which goes on sale in California this summer.

The rear-drive i3, which is expected to retail for about €40,000 ($52,200), will debut in the European market later this year. BMW will follow it with the far more powerful €100,000 ($130,600) i8 plug-in hybrid sport coupe in early 2014.

BMW also will offer an optional home fast-charge system for the i3, according to Bloomberg. The news service says the package will include special software for the car's navigation system that flags the location of upcoming public charging stations during long trips.

The i3 will utilize a carbon-reinforced plastic body and aluminum chassis, resulting in an overall vehicle weight of about 1,000 kg (2,800 lb).

BMW publicly unveiled the i3 in preproduction form last November at the Los Angeles auto show with a 170-hp electric motor that makes 184 lb-ft of torque. The company has predicted that the car's lithium-ion battery will be able to power the car for about 100 miles per charge.