BMW was close to bringing electric cars to market once before. At the 1991 Frankfurt auto show, the E1 concept car was unveiled to showcase electric-vehicle technology—and its styling, powertrain, and packaging was controversial within and outside the company.

But the E1 turned out to be not much more than a styling and engineering exercise. BMW says it had been planning instead to bring a fully electric version of the 3-series to market. The most optimistic scenario: to build up capacity over 10 years, to 40,000 units annually. While the maximum power output of the E1 was not impressive, charging cycles—just a few hours—were short even by today’s standards, and the range was impressive at more than 150 miles.

Attention shifted to safety issues when the sole E1 prototype caught fire during a charging session, ultimately leading to a blaze that not only destroyed the expensive electric prototype but also part of a building.

Electric power had been promoted mainly by BMW Technik, a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW (now dissolved) that performed advanced research-and-development work independent of BMW headquarters. Concerns about the cost and viability of the program were legion. “It was politically charged,” recalls an insider. The conflagration sealed the fate not only of the E1 but ultimately of the entire electric-drive program.

Meanwhile, BMW changed the corporate strategy to accelerate the hydrogen internal-combustion engine—a program that is currently being relegated to subordinate status. With the Mini E and “Project i,” of which major parts are developed by an outside engineering partner, the company is now picking up where it left off nearly 20 years ago.

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