The bean counters at BMW realised that there are 400,000 potential buyers for their 330e! These potential buyers are those who placed their orders for the Tesla Model 3.
In a new 30-second commercial for the BMW 330e, the German automaker spends most of the ad asserting that you shouldn’t wait for the Tesla Model 3 and instead buy BMW’s new plug-in hybrid. They spent so much time on establishing the premise that you shouldn’t wait for the Model 3 that they ended up mentioning only one feature of the 330e, its EPA-rated gas consumption of 72 MPGe.
BMW’s argument boils down to: buy our car because it’s available now
It’s hard to blame BMW for wanting to tap into Tesla’s new pool of ~400,000 potential customers who showed interest in paying $35,000+ for an electric car, but do they really think that availability is the main factor here?
The Tesla Model 3 is an all-electric vehicle with an estimated range of over 215 miles and a base price of $35,000. The BMW 330e is a plug-in hybrid with an EPA-rated all-electric range of 14 miles and a base price of $44,000.
Here’s the ad:
Apparently, they are making a whole campaign out of this “wait or drive” thing. This one features dummy Tesla Superchargers:
Watch BMW’s Wait or Drive Ad featuring Female Driver
It’s almost as if BMW forgot that its own electric vehicle, the BMW i3, is capped at 50 kW charging at DC fast-charging stations, while Tesla’s vehicles can charge at up to 120 kW at Superchargers. You really don’t want to highlight that difference in a commercial you paid for…
Here’s another video for your weekend viewing pleasure BMW’s CEO bonking his head on a Falcon Wing door when trying to rush out of a Tesla Model X. – electrek