Simple Reason Why All-Alectric BMW 3 Series Will Be a Hard Sell Against Tesla Model 3

According to Auto Express the new upcoming electric BWM 3 series will keep the existing platform. How are the BMW engineers and marketers plan to sell an EV with the same platform?

“The next-generation 3 Series, codenamed G20, gets a switch of chassis technology as the car leaves its existing platform and moves to an all-new architecture called CLAR, for Cluster Architecture. CLAR brought in carbon-fibre construction techniques to the 7 Series when it was introduced on that car earlier this year, and elements will be retained on the limousine’s smaller brother," reports Auto Express.

The UK based Auto Express reports this story siting inside sources and anticipates the car to be available between 2018-2020.

The Active E was an amazing BMW. It was smaller, but had a superior driving experience over the Z4, 3-Series, and 5-series. The starting price of the 3 Series is around $34,000. According to Electrek, "Automakers often have problems selling electric vehicles built on the same platform as gas-powered vehicles since they price the EVs higher and they are often not great at explaining the fuel costs saving and other advantages."

I agree with the Electrk reporter and question the BMW's EV approach regarding to G20 all-electric model. How wise is it to use the same platform for both an EV and gas powered cars? if you talk to many EV or Tesla owners, many of them will tell you that the car's futuristic look is something that attracts them. This is why an affordable Tesla Model 3 is such a big success. BMW's electric car will probably have a higher price than it's ICE equivalent. A higher price for an identical exterior is a very hard sell.

Also see: 3 reasons why the BMW 3 Series makes 10 Best Cars of 2015.