The electric vehicle from BMW is called the i3. From 2012 to 2022, it was made in the BMW facility in Leipzig.
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After nine years, manufacture of the BMW i3 will end in July.
After a run of nine years and approximately 250,000 units sold, the BMW i3 is scheduled to stop manufacturing in less than six months.
The BMW i3 was the first BMW model to feature a pure-electric driveline, ahead of the larger, Chinese-produced BMW iX3 announced in 2021. It was first shown as a concept car in 2011 and launched in the UK in 2013.
The time has come: It’s time to bid the BMW i3 adieu after nine years.
The manufacture of the BMW i3, BMW’s first I brand EV, will end later this summer after nine years and more than 250,000 sold units. Even so, the eccentric little compact can depart with pride since the electric future it foresaw has come to pass.
Along with its I stablemate, the BMW i8, the BMW i3 debuted as a concept in 2011 and was boldly futuristic. The recently introduced I brand projected a futuristic image of a world filled with electric vehicles. It was a future that ultimately never materialized because our current reality is superior. Almost all new cars in this future are electric, yes, but they are the standard.
According to the Electrify America ad campaign, EVs are now commonplace. In 2011, a year before the first Tesla Model S vehicle left the factory, they weren’t normal, and the BMW I vehicles didn’t even make an effort to be normal. Even with the i3 equipped with Rex, they were happy to be unusual and even avoided being labeled as hybrids.
There won’t be a direct competitor to the BMW i3 that utilizes the same high-end, expensive, lightweight aluminum and carbon fiber structure. Instead, the iX1, an all-electric version of the BMW X1 crossover that sits just below the iX3, and an electric version of the next-generation MINI Cooper will subtly replace the i3.
BMW executives agree that the brand’s new EVs will benefit the i3’s followers. The Mini Electric or the future BMW iX1 will be ideal for today’s customers who want a fully electric city car that is precisely fitted for urban driving or a small but roomy vehicle for an active lifestyle, a BMW UK spokeswoman told Autocar. The BMW Group will have six BEV cars available on the market by the end of this year, and 13 by 2023.
Report: BMW i3 production may soon come to an end.
- According to BMWBlog, production of the i3 will terminate for the US market at the end of July 2021 but continue overseas through 2022.
- BMW’s early entry into the EV market was made possible by the i3, which has been in production since 2013. However, the i3 has had certain challenges in terms of sales.
- BMW appears to be putting other EV market categories first for now, and an SUV and sedan are on the way.
According to BMWBlog, which cited a dealer advisory it obtained, production of the BMW i3 for the US market will be finished in a few weeks. According to BMWBlog, i3 production will halt in the US at the end of July, but it will continue in other regions until at least 2022. According to the article, there were only about 200 production slots left for the US, meaning that US hatch inventories were at their lowest point in quite some time. Those who wanted to order a new hatch sometimes encountered difficulties doing so.
It should be noted that the i3 had been in production since 2013, thus its eventual extinction in the US and other regions is not shocking in that aspect, as BMWBlog points out. The world of plug-in vehicles has seen significant transformation in that period, from battery-electric models to PHEVs of all varieties, including range-extended electric vehicles like the i3. The i3 was therefore approaching the end of its useful life while yet looking incredibly modern on the outside, even though it was undoubtedly a familiar sight. Not many vehicles that are over a decade old have aged this nicely. Like the i8, the i3’s carbon-fiber frame is still a very cutting-edge component in a mass-produced car, especially one that has spent this entire period on the assembly line.
It is also important to note that the fourth quarter of the i3’s production cycle saw an increase in demand because plug-in vehicles of all kinds are becoming more and more common in northern Europe and a number of other places. So even while its sales performance in the US was not stellar in 2021, as BMWBlog notes, that rising tide managed to float quite a few boats, including ones that were not very new at the time.
Ramey, Jay
For his own personal use, Jay Ramey has been drawn to the more adventurous end of the reliability spectrum because he spent his childhood around really unusual European cars.
Has the BMW i3 been retired?
BMW i3 is no longer available. The final 18 examples of BMW’s first electric vehicle were delivered a few days ago. After producing almost 250,000 BMW i3s in Leipzig, the company stopped making the electric pioneer at the end of June.
Galvanic Gold Metallic i3 vehicles make up the final 18 vehicles that were delivered at the BMW Welt in Munich. “The BMW Welt has long been a hub for interaction and invention. Therefore, it was more than appropriate that the impulsive BMW i3 received a brilliant and respectful send-off for its final delivery “the manufacturer says.
BMW has identified a direct substitute for the i3 model name while the four-meter-long electric car with its distinctive carbon-fibre shell is being decommissioned without a replacement. The BMW i3 eDrive 35L has been leaving the production line at the new Lydia facility in Shenyang, China, since mid-May, when the i3 was still running in Leipzig. Despite the nomenclature being identical, the electric automobile based on the BMW 3 Series is completely different from the European i3.
The BMW i3 has sold in 74 countries since it first went on sale in 2013. The i3’s registration numbers rapidly grew with the second battery update in 2018 to 42.2 kWh gross. The nine-year-old model still registered 12,178 new vehicles in Germany in 2021, placing it 10th among all electric vehicles, ahead of the Opel Corsa-e, Audi e-tron, and Hyundai Ioniq 5. According to the German automaker, the series passed the 250,000 unit mark in 2022, ranking it among the most popular electric vehicles globally in the premium compact sector.
BMW has not yet introduced a predecessor in the market or, it would seem, has transferred this responsibility to its subsidiary Mini. The BMW i3 was supposed to be discontinued in 2024 according to earlier reports from 2019, but we only learned about it in January. The i3’s early demise coincides with the Leipzig plant’s restructuring in preparation for the commencement of production of the new generation Mini Countryman. The new EV, built on BMW’s FAAR front-wheel drive architecture, will debut in Leipzig in 2023.
According to reports, Mini won’t introduce a new model with an internal combustion engine option again until 2025. Only all-electric vehicles will then be released, making Mini an all-EV brand by 2030.
BMW, however, still seems unsure. The new class, or Neue Klasse as the German automaker refers to its next-generation cars, will include a new 3-series model, but how it will look and how it will drive are still up in the air.
One could argue that it would be wonderful to see some of the innovative souls from the BMW i3 return as soon as possible.
BMW i3 dependability
Is a pre-owned BMW i3 hatchback trustworthy? The i3 placed fourth out of nine electric vehicles in its class, receiving a score of 94.1% in our most recent dependability study. A solid achievement for BMW as a brand, placing 13th out of 30 manufacturers.
What vehicle will succeed the BMW i3?
After nine years of production, BMW has declared that the i3 is no longer being made, putting an end to the inventive and long-lasting little electric car.
Just a few weeks after the model reached a production run of more than a quarter of a million, the final i3 came off the production line in Leipzig, Germany. Ten units of the i3 HomeRun Edition, an ultra-exclusive special edition model with the company’s “Frozen paint finish,” have been ordered to commemorate the event.
The i3 was originally seen by the public in concept form at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2011, and when the production vehicle was introduced in 2013, it substantially resembled the show-car design.
The upright proportions, glass tailgate, two-tone paint job, and dipping shoulder line all deviated from the typical BMW design cues that customers had grown accustomed to. It launched BMW’s new I sub-brand, which was one of the factors contributing to the bizarre appearance (along with the i8 sports car).
Rear-hinged doors are always interesting, and they undoubtedly contributed to the i3’s personality, along with the interior. The technology was updated over the course of its existence to keep it feeling modern. The interior itself featured a low dash and window line for a light and airy atmosphere.
A custom platform made of a combination of aluminum, magnesium, and carbon fiber is positioned below the i3 to keep weight at just over a tonne. Due to the lack of weight, the vehicle’s ultimate fully-electric design had a maximum range of 190 miles.
The UK’s police, fire, and ambulance services all adopted the i3 due to its popularity with emergency services.
There won’t be a direct replacement for the i3, and a completely electric version of the 3 Series saloon is anticipated to receive the i3 badge. The iX1, an electric variant of the new X1 SUV, will be the company’s entry-level EV model.
How secure is the BMW i3?
The A-class, Mercedes’ initial entry into the compact automobile market, was a ground-breaking new vehicle that the company unveiled in 1997. It would be the safest compact automobile available, according to Mercedes. Shortly after the vehicle’s unveiling, a Swedish journalist’s “moose test” resulted in the vehicle rolling over. The A-failed class’s moose-test received widespread media publicity in Germany and other European nations, jeopardizing its successful introduction and harming parent company Mercedes-reputation Benz’s for safety. They were compelled to include an ESP as standard, and even though it passed the test, the harm to the A-reputation class’s had already been done.
Imagine the year is 2013 and BMW unveils the i3, its first foray into the electric vehicle market. BMW claimed that because of its carbon fiber safety cell, it will be among the safest electric vehicles available. The vehicle only obtained a four-star rating in the European safety test conducted by Euro NCAP shortly after it was first unveiled. BMW hoped that the “failed” safety test for the i3 wouldn’t jeopardize the success of the i3 launch and damage the parent company BMW’s reputation as a technology leader. To receive a five star rating, they will likely need to include a few safety features as standard, but the harm will already be done.
The i3 was updated when?
Regarding the BMW i3 2018 saw an upgrade to the BMW i3 that included a larger battery. The car’s battery capacity increased from 22.6 kWh at introduction in 2013 to 33 kWh with a 2016 update. Its current 42.2 kWh battery is more comparable to those found in the entry-level Nissan Leaf (40 kWh) and Hyundai Kona Electric (64kWh)