BMW has the plug-in sedan you want, no waiting.
That’s the message in Bimmer’s new ad for the 330e plug-in hybrid, which takes a not very subtle jab at would-be Tesla Model 3 buyers. Titled “Wait or Drive” (get it?), the television commercial plays the tiniest of violins for the 373,000 buyers who put $1,000 down on a car they might not see for a couple of years.
In it, a woman walks across a dimly lit rooftop parking garage, pausing briefly as she passes two empty recharging stations that look an awful lot like Tesla’s signature red-and-white Superchargers. Slightly ominous music swells. The woman collects herself, walks past the lonely faux Superchargers, and unplugs her 330e. In charge of her own destiny, our protagonist fires up her completely real and totally not ghost-like plug-in and drives off.
A voice-over tells us:
“You can pay a deposit…and wait. You can put your name on a list…and wait. You can get in line…and wait. You can wait…or you can drive.”
This ad, plus another titled “Waiting,” will play during the Olympics, lending more mileage to BMW’s teasing. The automaker requested the ads in May, after reservations poured in for a Tesla vehicle that doesn’t start production until late next year. New York-based agency The Vault landed the contract, according to Ad Age.
Now, the 330e’s all-electric range (14 miles) is nowhere near the projected 215-mile range of the Model 3, but you can’t blame BMW for poking back at a company that does a lot of poking.
Which means you can wait to be a very hip environmental type, or you can lease now and be the environmentally correct version of a status-seeking douchebag.
Either way, you’ve paid too much money.
Not everyone buys an EV to be an environmental type. There are people that like v8s, some like 4 cylinders with CVTs, and some of us like EVs. Sometimes it’s just a preference for a particular type of drivetrain. I prefer a full electric and will pay whatever it takes to get what I want. I make enough money that I can afford what I want and I really don’t care what anyone thinks about it.
I am an “all of the above” kind of guy. Electric, diesel, gas, hybrid-what ever floats your boat. Just don’t ask my middle class tax dollars to support any of it. The market should determine our best choices-not throwing scarce tax dollars at well off car buyers who can afford the cars without the incentives.
Nobody LIKES a 4-cylinder with a CVT.
A 4-cylinder with CVT is like waiting an hour on the phone listening to a 15 second loop of classical music so you can talk to your state unemployment agency. Absolutely dreadful and unbearable, but sometimes you just gotta put up with it.
@NoGoYo That’s a good way of describing CVTs! The V-6 and 4 cylinder cars with conventional automatics I’ve recently driven feel like CVTs now that I have 34k miles of time in an EV. That instant response is addictive. The EV is going to be an alternative to the 3 cylinder turbo CVT hell the ICE world is probably headed for.
I’m with mcs. I’ve always thought EVs were cool, and now that I’m driving one I’m not interested in driving anything else ever again. I don’t have money down on a model 3, but I am hoping Tesla succeeds in producing them. Maybe the ad makes some sales but it wouldn’t sway me.
@Syke,
Environmentalism is hardly the only or even main reason to get an EV. Far from an environmental type, I love a big loud V8 and daily drive a pickup, but I also like EVs because they’re fun to drive. Drive a Corolla/Civic or similar compact back to back with a Chevy Volt and tell me honestly that the Volt’s drivetrain doesn’t blow the others away.
Well, after tax incentives at the federal and state level the Model 3 really isn’t “too much money” considering that it’s a pretty quick RWD vehicle, let alone one with twenty grand in batteries jammed under it. And I have no qualms about getting back some tax money, even after all the credits it’ll only amount to something like a 10% tax cut for one year.
“… let alone one with twenty grand in batteries jammed under it.”
Imaginary number, no matter how many times certain people want to say otherwise.
It’s a funny ad, but it won’t sell more 330es or convert any Model 3 reservists.
Surprisingly, Model 3 reservists already know what they want, AND they’re willing to wait for it. There are no surprises here.
Besides, by showing a hybrid, BMW is comparing apples and bananas. It’s a little odd that they don’t show their i3 instead of the 330e, but I guess the 330e is prettier.
Perhaps Ford should run an ad offering to sell a Mustang to customers eagerly awaiting the mid-engine Corvette.
Indeed. If anything, this should be targeting upmarket Volt customers or somesuch. I could buy a Volt today if I wanted a small electric range with a range extender. If I was in that market and wanted to spend $40k on a hybrid/BEV I guess.
I don’t get why no one understands why someone would wait for the 3. I want:
1 – an all-electric drivetrain that can handle my commute and bi-weekend trips to Barrie (lets say 150 miles roundtrip) without stopping to charge. This would allow me to do all but one or two roadtrips a year while charging at home, at night
2 – a car that performs well enough that I’m not going to feel like I “gave up” performance to get #1
3 – That’s modern enough to link with my phone and support, at minimum, the same safety and driver convenience features my current Mazda 6 has, and
4 – that doesn’t cost more than my old RX8 to own.
The Model S covers all but #4. *if* the model 3 can cover all four points (and all signs suggest it will), then awesome. Perhaps the Bolt will as well, and I’ll seriously consider it, but I fear it may falter on #2 or 3 above.
Which is the point. There isn’t another car that does this out there today. So, I put down a deposit and wait. It’s not any more complicated than that. BMW telling me I can instead pay $40k to get part of each of those items isn’t really an alternative, when I can just wait for the vehicle that meets all four, and enjoy my ICE car in the meantime.
The ad is for those who aren’t really paying much attention – those who want it now, and are having their hubby or sugar daddy pay for it.
As long as the test drive is less than 10 miles or so, the lessees may not even realize they aren’t taking home a fancy German Prius instead of a high-performance all-electric vehicle.
It sounds like you are assuming that helpless straight women are the majority of Tesla Model 3 depositors. I doubt that.
Clearly BMW knows the 330e cannot compete with the Volt, whose all-electric range is more than 3x as far.
14 miles vs 214? That’s comparing apples to aardvarks. Still I guess one needs to drive something for the next 2 years.
“drive something for the next 2 years.”
It is a BMW, so you keep it 36 months.
True, but there’s nothing stopping BMW from tailoring model-specific lease terms. Even so, in 3 years’ time they’ll still only be about halfway down the waiting list. If I were writing the copy for this ad, instead of framing the question as wait or drive, I would have put it as “What are you going to drive WHILE you wait?”
two years? When has Tesla ever delivered anything on time? And even if they did it’ll be quite awhile before the bulk of the s̶u̶c̶k̶e̶r̶s̶ people who just handed Tesla a $373 million interest free loan ever get their cars. They could probably lease two BMW hybrids (or whatever brand they want) in that time. In fact, if Tesla ever does get around to building the Model 3 in volume, BMW, Mercedes, and Audi, et al, will probably have released their own all-electric cars.
BMW, Mercedes and Audi already released all electric vehicles. The fact that you don’t realize that tells us all we need to know about how successful they are (not).
my apologies, allow me to be more precise — the i3, B-class EV, and A3 eTron are not direct competitors to anything Tesla currently sells, nor are they competitors to the imaginary Model 3.
By the time the Model 3 goes from gleam in Musks eye to reality, BMW, Audi, and Benz will likely have vehicles that actually are competitors to vehicles Tesla makes.
Is that better?
The Model 3 is directed at the $40K price point, which is where these weak German entries live.
I would argue that the 540, E43 and S7 *are* the current set of competitors to the Tesla Model S.
Yep would have made a great BOLT ad thou.
Clearly the 330e is not worth the money; a 13-mile electric range wouldn’t even get me to ONE of my usual destinations without starting the engine, much less out and back. And for the same price as that projected for the Model III which could get me out and back four-plus times on electricity alone?
“And for the same price as that projected for the Model III which could get me out and back four-plus times on electricity alone?”
But can you drive a projection? Elon Musk’s promise is no product. I think that is point of the ad.
I could drive a Model S right now if I wanted to, so that “projection” is hardly impossible or even unlikely. If I want a plug-in car that can meet my needs, why would a buy a plug-in car that can’t even BEGIN to meet my needs without starting a gasoline or diesel engine? Musk’s promise IS a product, it’s just not on the market yet. The Chevy Bolt is a far superior choice if you want a 200-mile BEV “right now” than a BMW that can’t even go one-tenth as far on battery alone. And even the Bolt isn’t going to be all that great.
With this one ad, BMW has now spent more money on advertising than Tesla has in its entire history. And yet, which one holds the stronger brand in EVs?
Tesla!
While Tesla was busy losing $2.5 billion over the last 5 1/2 years, BMW produced over $30 billion in profit.
One of them can afford to pay for the advertising. The other has built a terrific brand that produces losses.
And how much did BMW have to spend prior to those 5-1/2 years to get the products they’ve been selling to make that profit?
BMW (and every other car company) would lose money too if they had one model for sale while spending to develop others.
Well that’s a good question, maybe some one can answer this with a startup car company to compare it to. But my guess is that Tesla has been funded and run at a loss longer then any other Independent automaker in the past. Sure there are examples of tech companies coming out of the same scenario but I can’t think of any heavy manufacturing companies that have been run with that much debt and no upside for that length of time and lived to tell about it.
If the wholesale cost of a BMW gas tank was in the five figures, then the Bavarians would be losing money, too.
Where would TTAC be without PCH’s constant reminders on Tesla’s profitability?
Adults suck, don’t they?
Adults suck, don’t they?
I’m not gonna be one ever no way no how.
I know, right? *If* Tesla managed profitability eventually, I feel like the conversation will move to either:
1) Well, it’s NOT real profitability/won’t last/etc., or
2) Well, profitability isn’t the problem, Issue X is the *real* problem!
I hope I’m wrong, but the pessimist in me suggests for many on this forum, Tesla could do everything they’ve set out to do and STILL just be a pyramid scheme or otherwise doomed.
Of course, they could all be right too, I suppose. We’ll see. ;)
If you understood why Tesla loses money, then this wouldn’t be such a mystery to you.
The cost of power storage is going to need to fall considerably before Tesla can hope to turn even a modest profit. And that’s before the issues of scale have been addressed.
VoGo,
You will find that I often don’t agree with Pch.
But, on this issue I’m an ardent supporter of his comments.
Tesla, is not going to make it in the automotive industry. It does have a chance in the solar/battery domestic market and possibly the commerical side of solar and battery storage.
I do like the work Elon Melon does with his space program.
These two industries are much different than the more competitive auto industry.
“While Tesla was busy losing $2.5 billion over the last 5 1/2 years, BMW produced over $30 billion in profit.”
Losing, or spending? There is a difference. BMW is 80 years old if not older; Tesla barely ten years old and doesn’t have nearly the manufacturing infrastructure in place by comparison. How about looking at where BMW’s costs would be if they tried to build what they have at today’s prices.
Industry analysts have estimated that when battery costs fall to $100/KW that EVs will cost what ICE cost to produce.
Right now, Tesla’s costs are in the $150-200/KW range, but the expectation is that once the gigafactory is at scale production, costs will fall to ~$100/KW.
Yeah, I don’t get why people don’t seem to realize that if they can get the cost of batteries down the fact that electric vehicles don’t require very complex emissions control systems and engines will make EVs cost competitive. It’s not cheap to make cars meet ever stricter emissions requirements and all those catalytic converters and particulate filtration systems cost thousands of dollars per vehicle while modern engines are also much more complex than assembling an electric motor. They can also do AWD by wire instead of using complicated AWD systems so there’s lots of savings available to an EV manufacturer that can make them competitive once batteries are down to a certain cost.
It’s not important to most how much BMW spends on this or any other ad. BMW has proven adept at making cars and SUV’s people want on a consistent basis and sell at a tidy profit.
Since you brought it up, one would think with all of the free advertising Tesla has received that they too would be in a better position than they are. The money Tesla didn’t spend on marketing is available for future product investment, making better interiors, speeding up production, etc.
“Since you brought it up, one would think with all of the free advertising Tesla has received that they too would be in a better position than they are. ”
Please name all carmakers with 360,000 customers who have each put down a $1,000 deposit for a car they know wont even be built for more than a year.
So, free advertising and really good marketing works to get interest free loans from potential customers who have bought into the story. Tribalism at it’s best. Let me know when they’re operating a sustainable business.
The smoke and mirrors game is just for the tribe members.
The ultimate message is that the 3 Series is less desirable than a Model 3, but it is available right now.
The same scenario plays-out at high school dances everywhere. BMW has low self-esteem and will do what it takes to become “popular.”
I guess that’s their brand message now.
The ad is perfectly aimed punch in the mouth at Tesla and all their Kool-aid drinking guppies. Well done.
Why?
Tesla buyers have money to support a company that produces something unlike any other on the market right now. For an enthusiast crowd, this is good, because these buyers don’t get annoyed by the personality of Musk, but make sure choices expand to people like yourself. And if you happen to be a BMW enthusiast, it’s not like they will push it out of business.
If it doesn’t convert someone on the Model 3 wait list to buy a BMW, it’s a complete miss of a punch.
If it instead speaks to the people who were never going to buy a Tesla to not buy a Tesla, then it’s preaching to the choir.
I’d been looking at the 330e. It actually is a nice sweet spot in the 3-Series lineup.
Thanks for sharing. You seem to have an opinion on nearly new every car.
As a moderator here, and as a buyer in the market, it’s Kyree’s job to have an opinion on nearly every new car.
By the way, Kyree, I read a review somewhere on the 330e. It *is* a compelling car, just not my taste.
Exactly, SCE to AUX.
In fact, aren’t we all????
Yes you are right TT. I go to Carmax once a month and drive 8 cars each visit to get an idea of what I like and what I dont. We have two CarMax’s in Jax FL so I get a large choice.
I have opinions on lots of different cars but dont really share all of them because we have our fair share of know it alls in the BandB here.
Being a moderator means ensuring the rules are followed. It has nothing to do with cars.
As potential buyers we all look at cars but don’t opine in most threads about almost every car. There are almost too many for a person to test drive/have strong opinion on.
TT – we don’t each write about those opinions every day. Kryee makes good points sometimes. I agree with Chocolate about the know it alls.
This *is* the opinion section, if I’m not mistaken.
“I’d been looking at the 330e. It actually is a nice sweet spot in the 3-Series lineup.”
In itself and as part of the BMW lineup, I would agree, Kyree. However, as compared to the Tesla Model Three? Not so much. They’re completely different beasts.
Interesting question…when was last time a German premium automaker felt compelled enough by an American competitor to make an ad subtly disparaging them?
Personally, I can’t recall another example.
I wouldn’t exactly call that subtle if they’re so openly suggesting Tesla through that ad. The only people who would know what they’re talking about are those who already know and understand what Tesla is; the rest will be made curious by the ad and could conceivably ask themselves why BMW is challenging the other car already.
This ad reminds me of the recent Chevy ‘steel bed’ vs Ford ‘aluminum bed’ truck ad.
Chevy disparages the Ford aluminum design, which only makes truck buyers consider the real reasons Ford went with aluminum. YTD, Ford is up 8.8%; the Silverado/Sierra are flat. Apparently, the ad isn’t helping.
BMW’s ad has to make viewers wonder why anyone would be stupid enough to wait for a new electric car, and NOT buy theirs.
The difference is that the Ford IS available, so while it might remind you of that, they’re completely different in message. One asks, “Do you really want to wait?” while the other asks, “Do you really want something so easily damaged?”
Oh, and I can hardly wait to see how long it takes for insurance rates to go up on those aluminum Fords; the parking lot dings have got to be horrendous!
I have an idea, very capitalistic one at that.
Why don’t all the (some) commenters (and some staff) on TTAC set up a dollar business and develop our own EV?
Hit the Government up for some socialised tax payer money to assist and pay our way.
I do know all of us at TTAC can have a 500 000 vehicle year market for our EV. We can achieve this within two years as well.
We can also undercut the competition and sell our prestige vehicle for under $30k.
What should we call our EV? It must have a 3 in it.
I do have some rocketry experience. I used to make those cardboard rockets with a parachute when I was a kid as well.
Jack can be our “leader” as he can spin a lot of sh!t and create a groupee following.
“I do have some rocketry experience.”
I think we’ve all had too much chipotle a time or two, Al.
“I have an idea, very capitalistic one at that.
Why don’t all the (some) commenters (and some staff) on TTAC set up a dollar business and develop our own EV?”
Ah, the sarcasm is strong with this one, padawan.
The ad might be more impactful if the BMW had more than 10% of the range of the product it is mocking.
Yes. This. I can totally understand if Nissan Leaf went this route because you are comparing apples to apples.
I know people love to compare a real car to the Model 3 projection bubble but the reality is that people already have a car and are waiting for the Model 3?
Isnt that obvious? Its not like 300,000 people are taking the damn bus while waiting for Elon to crap out his next losing adventure.
I also find it hilarious how no one mentions that the 330e is a California type ‘compliance’ car. That to me is the most cynical thing of all, in fact, I find this kind of ‘sin’ most egregious compared to anything Elon has ever done.
Today’s wild ass guess is that this car fills a niche in some Cities in the world where you need a ZEV to get into the city center, at which point the 13 miles (what, they use the startup battery ?) is enough to pick up Chad at the stock brokerage.
Tesla and Trump are very similar ‘brands’. They both get lots of free publicity from the media so they don’t need to advertise to get name recognition. They have both surprised ‘conventional’ competitors in managing to survive this long (which is why the BMW ad focuses on Tesla). They both make big promises that they seldom keep (which is the point of the BMW ad). They both survive on government subsidies and lots of debt. Only Trump has gone bankrupt, but I suspect Tesla will soon be joining him in that club. The interesting thing is – I suspect there are very few Tesla fanboys that are going to vote for Trump.
Not true. Trump very clearly advertises his “brand” on everything he’s involved with. He gets publicity because he pays for publicity one way or another. He wouldn’t even be running for President right now if he hadn’t blown his “brand” ridiculously out of proportion.
Tesla doesn’t do that. Tesla’s Brand comes from offering a product that is truly different and encourages its owners to tell their friends and show off the car; this is completely different from the person to whom you are comparing them. What “free” advertising they get now comes far more from the anti-Tesla people trying to shoot them down than it does from proponents saying, “buy this car!”
Trump advertises everywhere. There’s a movement here to get his name off of a skyscraper. If 20 foot-tall letters spelling TRUMP isn’t advertising, I’m not sure what is.
And again, if by “government subsidies” you mean payouts from the government, tesla repaid those. It gets tax credits like every auto manufacturer, and sells tax credits to other auto manufacturers, but that’s private money, not government money.
Trump putting his own name on his own buildings is not technically advertising in the sense of paying a 3rd party to publicize your name (such as the BMW ad running during the Olympics TV coverage). If putting a name on a building is advertising, then Tesla does the same ‘advertising’ by putting the Tesla name on its factory building and showrooms.
Tax credits are a subsidy when the government forces other automakers to buy them. They also get subsidies in the form of tax rebates for buying electric cars. The repaid loans were also a subsidy, even though they are repaid, as the firm would not have survived without them.
“Trump putting his own name on his own buildings is not technically advertising in the sense of paying a 3rd party to publicize your name (such as the BMW ad running during the Olympics TV coverage). If putting a name on a building is advertising, then Tesla does the same ‘advertising’ by putting the Tesla name on its factory building and showrooms.”
Exactly right. Hence my comment that trump surely engages in advertising. Paying a third party is irrelevant to whether or not an ad is an ad (when nbc advertises their own show on their own channel, they pay no one, but it is surely an ad).
“Tax credits are a subsidy when the government forces other automakers to buy them. ”
The other automakers could produce compliant vehicles instead of purchasing credits. They are *choosing* not to. That’s like saying the government “forces” you to pay for expedited processing to get your passport sooner. You could just wait instead and pay less.
“They also get subsidies in the form of tax rebates for buying electric cars. ”
You mean their customers do.
“The repaid loans were also a subsidy, even though they are repaid, as the firm would not have survived without them.”
I cannot argue the “survived without them” point as I don’t have enough information, but considering those loans were repaid a long time ago, their recent “survival” has been based on non-governmental capital investment, sales, and funds from other auto manufacturers, not government subsidies as you claim.
And yes, they took and repaid a gov’t loan, as did every other US manufacturer except Ford, I believe (Canadian here, I may be wrong).