The BMW i4 M50, the first M-badged electric vehicle is now in Malaysia for a good price.
The BMW i4 may have some controversial looks, but when BMW M gets its hands on it, there’s no denying the appeal goes up. And with a decent price, there’s even more of a reason to think about owning one. That’s what BMW Malaysia are banking on as it just launched the BMW i4 M50 for RM430,800 without excise duties or import tax or sales tax either.
This M-tuned electric vehicle is quite a lot of bang for the buck with two electric motors delivering up to 544hp and 795Nm of torque. This gives the i4 M50 a 0-100km/h time of just 3.9 seconds but a top speed of just 225km/h. 11kW AC charging charges the battery in 8 hours 15 minutes but a can recover a significant portion of battery life can be recovered in half an hour with the ‘rare and exclusive in Malaysia’ 200kW DC fast charger. A full charge should return about 510km of driving range.
The first ever BMW i4 M50 may not be a looker, but it comes with the M Aerodynamics package, a body-coloured M rear spoiler, and a black rear diffuser insert. This electric performance machine comes with the M interior trim, carbon fibre trim finishers, M anthracite headliner material, M Sport front seats, M seat belts, and much, much more. They’ve even packaged BMW IconicSounds Electric for the Malaysian market.
The BMW i4 M50 also comes with the BMW M 50 Years Emblems as standard. It comes with Active Protection for Pedestrians, Driving Assistant Professional and more. Exterior colour choices for Malaysia are Mineral White, Black Sapphire, M Brooklyn Grey, M Portimao Blue ad Sanremo Green. Interior upholstery is finished in Black with Blue contrast stitching or Cognac.
While this is undoubtably a very attractive package, we have to wonder if the Malaysian government was wise in letting go of SO MUCH potential tax income on what is clearly a luxury good. Sure, all electric cars are fast and expensive, but the BMW i4 M50 is quite literally a luxury sportscar that’s not exactly bringing electric mobility to the masses. We can’t blame BMW Malaysia for exploiting this tax gap, but perhaps someone in the government should put some caveats into the EV policy before more untaxed luxury goods slip past their fingers.
