I have to say, I’m genuinely intrigued by BMW’s new i brand, and particularly the new BMW i3.
Not heard of it? It’s BMW’s electric small car built for so-called megacities.
Or, as BMW puts it, the very first electrically powered premium vehicle. It’s due here later this year.
I just feel that if anyone can make electric vehicles work – known as EVs – then it must be BMW.
But BMW will be swimming against the current if the i3 is a success.
EVs have not been the great saviour of the motor industry – or the planet – as they were once hailed, mainly due to their limited range (about 80 miles before a recharge is required).
And while there have been individual stories of businesses using EVs successfully, such as the Bruichladdich distillery on the island of Islay distillery with the Nissan Leaf, sales have been disappointing.
Only some 50,000 Leafs have been sold across the world, while Nissan missed its US target of 20,000 sales by over 50%.
And when former Volvo Cars chief, Stefan Jacoby, goes public with a highly sceptical view of EVs, then you have to take notice.
Mr Jacoby reckons that fear – fear of a dead battery – is the key to the failure of EVs to engage.
“If the battery goes down on their cell phone people feel really bad. If it’s your car in the middle of a traffic jam you will feel even worse,” says Mr Jacoby.
And not only that fear of running out of juice; but price too, is an issue, reckons Mr Jacoby.
The rise of petrol and diesel hybrids, along with plug-in hybrids and range-extenders, provide low emission fleet transport without the fear factor of running out of charge. And I suspect, as technology progresses, they will play an even greater part in the future fleet model mix.
So do have EVs have a future? Well, of course they do, but perhaps not as significant as some industry pundits might have once led us to believe.
I do see a role for EVs in urban cities as part of an integrated network, providing emission-free motoring where distance – ie the fear factor of running out of charge – is unlikely to be an issue.
But for mainstream fleet use, the current mix of diesel cars and hybrids – plus some of the opportunities presented by small size/high output low emission petrol engines typified by Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost unit – will continue to take centre ground.
As they will, I suspect, for some time to come.
I have to say, I’m genuinely intrigued by BMW’s new i brand, and particularly the new BMW i3. Not heard of it? It’s BMW’s electric small car built for so-called megacities. Or, as BMW puts it, the very first electrically powered premium vehicle. It’s due here later this year. I just feel that if anyone … Continued
I was having a look at the CO2 emission figures recently published by the SMMT. It shows an interesting – if not unexpected – downward trend: 2012 finished on an average 133.1g/km of CO2. The other item I noted was the 15.8% reduction in CO2 emissions between 2008-12. The SMMT statistics show a drop from158g/km … Continued
There was a moment during this cold snap when the Fleet Alliance Head Office (based as it is in Glasgow) was bathed in winter sunshine while the south of England was swathed in deep, white snow. How we felt smug. Though not for very long, of course… As the current news and weather reports constantly … Continued
Are we all back in our driving seats, so to speak? The Christmas and new year break is always a good one, but the first week back is always something of a slog. But with that behind us, and the immediate issues of implementing Q1 strategies immediately before us, what faces us in the future … Continued
A friend recently took ownership of the new Audi A3 and I thought it would be fun to challenge him to write a short review of the model that, in its previous guise, was our most popular fleet car of 2011. Despite being a terrible photographer (as the photo to the left attests), Kevin is … Continued
It’s unlikely ever to happen, of course, but what if Santa got stuck for transport on Christmas Eve? I mean, how would the Christmas stocking, which I lay out by the fire at home, be filled? This is a serious worry. And not just for me – but all those other children waiting expectantly under … Continued
Conferences can be really good thought provokers – that is part of their remit. (They can also give rise to those tricky eye-closing moments at times, too – but I’m sure we’ve all been there!) But overall, with their networking opportunities, I find conferences really useful. Like this fact: by 2020, the end of this … Continued
Just think about some of the exciting new cars that have been launched recently: the new BMW 1 Series; the new Mercedes A-Class; the new Audi A3; the new Volvo V40; the new Toyota Auris… The list goes on – and that’s before we start thinking about current cars with updated engines, such as Ford’s … Continued
The EU might have been misguided in their ambition earlier this year to impose quotas on the number of women on boardrooms, but you certainly get their drift. It’s a good idea. I’m no fan of quota systems, but I do believe that increasing the representation of women on the nation’s boardrooms is not only … Continued
It’s been called one of the best goals ever scored – when Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a brilliant overhead scissor kick against England last week (click this link to watch it on You Tube). I didn’t watch it at the time as I was more engaged with celebrating Scotland’s win (yes a win!) against Luxembourg at … Continued