2012 Beijing: BMW unveils new ‘eDrive’ badge for future its ‘i’ cars

BMW has been making quite the statement with their latest lineup of eco-friendly “i” cars, the i3 and i8. As a result of the brand jumping on the electric car bandwagon, BMW has reportedly announced that every forthcoming “i” car will don an “eDrive” badge to signify the car’s alternative electric powertrain.

The “eDrive” badge recently just made its debut at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show, on the i8 Concept Spyder.

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The idea of the BMW “eDrive” badge takes after the brand’s shift in nomenclature, specifically with their all-wheel drive models, which feature the recent “xDrive” badge. But what was oddly convoluting was that BMW insists that the “xDrive” badge is also part of the vehicle model’s name, as exhibited with the X3, X5, and X6 models. For instance, the base X3’s full name is the X3 xDrive28i. BMW’s non-SUV all-wheel drive models however, just receive an xDrive badge at the end of the number designation.

BMW didn’t specify if those same tactics will play with the i3’s and i8’s badge. But an “eDrivei3” and “eDrivei8” name for the i3 and the i8 doesn’t exactly sound nor look right. So that leaves the name, i3 or i8 eDrive.

 

Either way, personally as a BMW enthusiast, I find it rather unfortunate that the brand has been reworking their nomenclature because it seems like they’re making it far more confusing than necessary. And this thought comes after considering the fact that BMW, for many years, used the letter “i” in its cars’ names to signify that those models were fuel injected. But then again, deciphering whether a new BMW is carbureted or fuel injected is no long an issue.

Additionally, I’m also surprised that BMW hasn’t run into any trademark issues with the letter “i” since electronics giant Apple seems to have that down pat.

– By: Chris Chin