2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Walkaround with BMW's Head of EV Operations @ O.C. Auto Show

BMW North America's Jacob Harb, Head of Electric Vehicle Operations and Strategies, gives us an up close look at the practicality of the all new all electric 2014 BMW i3 compact city car that offers up to 200 miles of cruising and the interior space of a 3 Series. The 2014 BMW i3 has a base price of $42k but that figure can be further reduced thanks to Federal and State Incentives. For instance the Federal Government is offering a $7500 Tax Credit and residents of California also get a $2500 Clean Vehicle Project Rebate.BWM debuted a couple of new vehicle's for the North American market including the 3rd generation X5, 328d diesel car, a 3-Series Gran Turismo, and the all-new 4-Series. But the big new maker is the 2014 BMW i3 which is an electric vehicle that is poised to spur sales for the broader EV segment. The BMW i3 will be the first full-series production car made that uses carbon fiber so extensively. Then entire passenger compartment is made from carbon fiber.The sustainability message was a key focus for BMW and that can be seen in the interior fabric which is made from recycled water bottles, the leather is dyed using olive oil, some other materials are made from hemp, and the wood is made from Eucalyptuses which is a very abundant wood.The 2014 BMW i3 might be the first purpose built electric car and the interior volume really benefits from that idea and the interior of this car has the same amount of space as a 3-Series. Thanks to all the carbon fiber, there is no need for a B-Pillar allowing the rear doors to open coach style.The range on the i3 is 100 miles on EV power alone. It takes about 3 hours to charge the BMW i3 on Level 2 Charging Station. To combat range anxiety, BMW has an optional range extender which is a small motorcycle engine that runs on gas to recharge the batteries effectively extending the range by another 100 miles.This total package will start at just over $41k which includes 19-inch wheels, navigation, an alarm system, Park Distance Control, and more. And keep in mind there are tax incentives too.See More Car Videoshttp://www.autobytel.com/car-videos/Join Our Facebook Pagehttp://www.facebook.com/autobytel