I
t looks like a prop from a science fiction movie. It’s the oddest vehicle built with a BMW badge since the company stopped making Isetta bubble cars in 1962. But the 2014 BMW i3 electric car revealed today rolls out as the most technically advanced effort by an automaker to make electric cars viable.
Like all major automakers, BMW has to build electric vehicles to meet regulations around the world, especially in California, which requires automakers to either sell their own EVs or pay their competitors who do so. BMW had experimented with an electric version of its 3-Series sedan, but chose to build a custom-designed EV meant to serve as an urban commuter in the world’s increasingly crowded cities — one meant to maximize its environmental credentials.