At the Los Angeles Auto Show, which opened to the public on Friday, the BMW all-electric i3 was named the Green Car of the Year by Green Car Journal. The i3 is the first all-electric car in the luxury car segment, and its MSRP is around $42,300. The new Mercedes B-class Electric Drive, which followed the i3 to market, carries an MSRP of around $42,400.
The i3’s range is about 81 miles on a full-charge with a range-extender, compared with a 60-mile range for the Mercedes. Both are well behind the 275-mile range claimed by the Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model S sedan. But then the Model S’s MSRP after incentives is north of $63,000.
BMW says it has sold more than 12,000 of its i3 model since introducing the car in November of last year. The company said it is the third best-selling all-electric vehicle on the market, behind the Nissan Leaf and the Model S. The i3 has sold a total of 4,263 units in the United States through October, well ahead of the 255 total sales for the Mercedes B-class Electric. Mercedes launched its electric vehicle in seven U.S. states in July of this year and expects to have the car available nationwide early next year.
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