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Citing company sources, FAS said that orders for the new i3 with
a longer range battery, for deliveries from mid-July onwards,
had risen "many times over" levels following the introduction of
the car's initial version in 2013.
Total orders for the new version had risen to 5,000 worldwide of
which around 1,000 were placed in Germany, ahead of delivery.
BMW said last month it was overhauling its research and
development to focus on self-driving cars for the future.
It also plans a sportier version of the i3 by 2018 and aims to
launch the next new electric car in 2021.
The German government decided in the spring to subsidize new
electric car purchases by giving a 4,000-euro ($4,400) discount
to the buyer in a scheme that also pays 3,000 euros towards each
purchase of a plug-in hybrid vehicle.
"The (buyers') incentive bonus plays a positive part," the paper
quoted a BMW manager as saying.
BMW was not immediately available to comment.
(Reporting by Vera Eckert and Ralf Banser; Editing by Greg
Mahlich)
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