Strong demand could prompt BMW to boost i3 production

Initial demand for the i3 electric vehicle has been so strong that BMW is already considering boosting its investment to increase production of the plug-in city car.

The i3 is still about a month out from launching in Europe – the four-seater will hit showrooms in the United States and China next year – but BMW has already taken 8,000 reservations for the car. BMW expects to sell 10,000 units of the i3 in 2014.

If that upward sales trend continues, BMW says it “will adjust capacity according to demand.”

“If demand holds, which is what it’s looking like, we will soon have to invest more,” Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner told Bloomberg. Eichiner didn’t mention how much BMW might have to invest to boost the i3′s production capacity.

The i3 will launch in Germany on November 16 with a starting price of 34,950 euros. The i3, which debuted earlier this year at an event in New York, will arrive in U.S. showrooms during the second quarter of 2014 with a base MSRP of $41,350. BMW will also sell a version of the i3 with a small gas generator for $45,200.

BMW will follow up the i3 with the $135,700 i8 plug-in sports car.

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