BMW gives you extra cash to switch from a Tesla or other EVs, but not from a gas car

BMW introduced a new incentive for its EV buyers: $1,000 off if you switch from a Tesla or other EVs.

The new conquest program doesn’t apply to gas car as the German automaker goes for low picking fruits.

Incentives to convert owners of vehicles from a specific car brand to switch over are nothing new. They are often referred to as “conquest programs”.

According to communications between BMW and its US dealers obtained by Cars Direct, the German automaker has a new $1,000 conquest program for new BMW i4, i5 and iX buyers:

According to a bulletin that BMW sent to dealers last week, the German automaker has introduced a new BMW 2024 BEV Conquest Program that gives $1,000 to owners of select EV brands to make the switch to one of BMW’s electric vehicles.

Here are the EVs eligible for the new incentive

• EVs from:
  • Tesla
  • Audi
  • Mercedes-Benz
  • Polestar
  • Rivian
  • Lucid
• Ford Mustang Mach-E
• VW ID4

While almost all EVs are eligible, it’s clear that BMW is going after Tesla owners as they represent the majority of electric vehicle owners in the US.

The incentive is reportedly stackable on top of other incentives and it is available in western states until April 1, 2024.

City Dwellers’s Take

Look, you gotta do what you gotta do, but I’m not a fan of this program. The goal of electrification is to convert gas mileage into electric mileage – hopefully, electric mileage powered by renewable energy.

But here, BMW is trying to sell EVs by going after existing EV owners.

From a business standpoint, it might seem smart because those are the lower-hanging fruits, so to speak. If they already own an EV, there’s no work to convert them to electric vehicles.

On the other hand, the customer pool is much smaller. There are many more gas car owners than EV owners.

But that’s the problem with a lot of legacy automakers. They are selling EVs so as not to get fined due to the new emission standards and not to lose too many sales to Tesla. Not because that’s where the industry should be going.

BMW has some decent electric cars. It should try to sell them to gas car owners.