BMW 3 Series ELECTRIC set to debut at Frankfurt say German press

A fully electric version of the BMW 3 Series is set to make a debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, according to the German Press, as BMW take aim at Tesla.

There was a point in time, as the BMW i3 was launched back in 2013, when it looked like BMW were committed to a future which included a high profile for electric cars.

That was followed quickly by the BMW i8 supercar which, although not a BEV, was reliant on the electric motor for much of its performance.

We were promised this was the start of a BMW ‘i’ revolution, and it seemed there would be an i5 Crossover/SUV in the mix before too long. But so far we’ve seen no real forward momentum from BMW on EVs.

But now, at least according to the German press, BMW is planning to go the route of fully electrifying its biggest seller – the BMW 3 Series.

That seems a slightly odd route for BMW to go, as the whole ‘i’ thing seemed to be about an entirely original series of electric cars to sit alongside BMW’s ICE range, but perhaps it’s about responding to the Tesla Model 3?

The Model 3 is due to start production in a few days time, and the level of orders Tesla has for their compact ‘Premium’ car could well have fired BMW in to responding with an electric 3 Series to stop Tesla gaining a real foothold in ‘their’ market.

According to the report, the 3 Series EV will come with a range of 250 miles and debut at Frankfurt in September. If true, we’re likely to start getting information very soon.