BMW Chairman Harald Krüger has used the company's
second quarter conference call to announce the automaker will present a
"very exciting surprise" at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Krüger declined to elaborate but he made the remark
will discussing electro-mobility and the iNext which will be built at the
company's plant in Dingolfing, Germany. This seems to suggest the model will be
an electric vehicle or a hybrid but nothing is official as of yet.
If the surprise is an eco-friendly vehicle, it could
be the company's answer to the Tesla Model 3. Back in June, reports surfaced
that BMW would use the Frankfurt Motor Show to introduce a 3-Series with an
electric powertrain. The report suggested the vehicle would have a range of approximately 400 km which would eclipse the entry-level Model 3 which can travel 354 km on a single charge.
Of course, it's possible that Krüger could be
talking about another model such as the performance-oriented i3 S or the X7 concept
which is rumored to use a fuel cell powertrain. Besides talking about the
mystery model, Krüger confirmed "many customers have already
reserved" the i8 Roadster. The executive also predicted the X3 EV will be
a "hit" when it arrives in 2020.
