Against much resistance, and tough competition, the BMW i3 has become the first all-electric car to be awarded the Wheels magazine car of the year award.
BMW was able to beat traditional fossil-fuelled competitors that included last year’s winner and in fact 3 times winner in the last 6 years, Volkswagen.
Wheels editor Glenn Butler said ” the i3’s victory serves notice to its combustion-engined competitors that the electric cars are here to stay”.
‘This year the future has arrived in the form of a seriously good motor vehicle … that just happens to run on electricity,’ he said.
‘There is no novelty factor involved here either.
‘It ushers in a new era of eco-performance for millions of families and urban commuters around the world, and in Australia.’
The BMW i3 was described as innovative and BMW as `brave’ to produce the electric-engined car.
‘Other brands surely possess the know-how to have created something equally visionary; all they lacked was BMW’s bravery,’ they said in a statement.
‘This innovative and compact electric car combines expressive design, impressive engineering, exceptional efficiency and persuasive practicality with a good deal of driver appeal.’
‘It is both admirable and desirable.’
The Wheels award has been running for 52 years since launch in 1963, when the Renault R8 won the inaugural award.
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