BMW has announced that it will start delivering imported electric vehicles in China this September, with pre-orders indicating short supplies in a location that may well become the biggest in the world for green vehicles,
The announcement was made by China president Karsten Engel.
The German automaker said it will sell its all-electric powered BMW i3 sedan and plug-in hybrid i8 sports car in four cities in China at first, with a sales cap of 1,000 vehicles in 2014.
The i3 will be available for 450,000 yuan ($72,000), which is cheaper than most analysts expected. It is cheaper than Tesla's Model S, which goes for 648,000 yuan in China.
Engel failed to say how many pre-orders had been received by the company for the i3 in China. The vehicle debuted last month at the Beijing Auto Show.
He did say that over 28,000 people have requested a test drive, which the automaker has viewed as a sign of public interest, according to Reuters.
"There are many more customers than supply," Engel said to reporters in Shanghai, according to Reuters.
BMW competes with Daimler AG, Tesla Motors Inc, Volkswagen AG for EV sales in China's slowly developing market for environmentally friendly cars.
Tesla launched its luxury Model S in China earlier this year, and Daimler carmaker BYD Co Ltd will start selling the Denza electric car before the end of 2014.
Volkswagen has said on more than one occasion that it plans to sell over 15 green vehicle models in China by 2018.
As part of Beijing's effort to fight pollution and reduce reliance on oil imports, China has set a target of putting 5 million electric or plug-in hybrids on country roads by 2020.
"I personally would assume that in less than five years, China would be the largest market for electric mobility," Engel said.
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