It is extremely heartbreaking to see BMW discontinue its little electric hatchback after nine years on the market given how great it was.
In 2011, as interest in electric vehicles increased, the BMW i3 was first unveiled as a concept car. The design was later evolved into a working model that was released for purchase in 2013 as a 2014 model. The BMW i3 has enjoyed considerable success since that time. The compact electric hatchback from BMW has sold over 250,000 units and was named the World Car Design and World Green Car of the Year winners at the 2014 World Car Awards.
Unfortunately, all wonderful things must eventually come to an end. BMW terminated the i3 in all markets in July 2022 after ceasing manufacturing for the US market in July 2021. The company cited consumer demand for larger-than-the-i3 electric automobiles as justification for the withdrawal. Another reason is that the manufacturer wants to move away from the i3’s distinctive appearance and produce electric vehicles with more traditional styling. The BMW i4 and BMW iX models are taking the place of the i3 as a result. We are sad to see the i3 depart, but there are other reasons as well.
In This Article...
BMW will shortly stop producing its i3 electric hatchback, blaming declining sales for the decision.
The 2013 BMW i3 is the company’s first electric vehicle.
The range of the BMW i3 is 130 to 160 kilometers on a single charge.
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The first BMW I vehicle in series production, the i3, is reportedly going out of production later this year. According to a report by Autocar, a BMW representative said the last i3 will come off the assembly line in July.
The model’s US trim was discontinued last year because to declining sales, but the EV has been quite popular in Europe since up until the epidemic, sales figures showed rising demand.
BMW will discontinue producing the i3 in July.
In July 2022, BMW will stop making the i3 in Leipzig. This is most likely due to the plant’s changeover to the production of upcoming electric vehicles.
According to a manufacturing representative quoted in the British magazine Autocar, production has come to an end. As a result, the information can be regarded as fact and not as conjecture. Oliver Zipse, the CEO of BMW, continued to say that the i3 would be produced in Leipzig through 2024 in December 2019. It was still believed at the time that the i3 will get another model update to make it marketable by 2024. An earlier end is now more plausible because such an update did not occur.
The i3’s now-apparently-early demise coincides with the Leipzig plant’s restructuring in the second half of 2022 in anticipation of the start of production of the new generation Mini Countryman, which, according to reports, will also be produced at the Leipzig BMW plant starting in 2023 with a pure electric drive. The production facilities for the Countryman will need to be rebuilt using BMW’s FAAR front-wheel drive architecture because the i3 is based on a stand-alone platform with an aluminum chassis and carbon fiber passenger cell.
Because the iX1 electric variant of the new X1 will debut later this year, the BMW i3 is also being phased out. Originally, a new production facility in Debrecen, Hungary, was going to be used to construct the iX1. It will now be manufactured at the BMW facility in Regensburg until 2024 as a result of construction delays, according to Autocar. Despite being around 40 centimeters longer than the i3, the interior space of the iX1 is comparable to that of the i3 thanks to its combustion engine base. Because of this, and despite the iX1’s unusual body concept, BMW intends to present it as a sort of successor.
In October 2021, the i3, which was introduced in 2013, has reached 200,000 units produced. BMW anticipates producing 250,000 copies of the i3 by the time it is retired in July 2022. The 2018 battery update to 42.2 kWh gross resulted in a steady rise in the number of i3 registrations. 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.
The fate of the BMW i3 had already been the subject of numerous rumors. In response to rumors concerning the model’s future at the end of 2019, Zipse has indicated, as previously reported, that production of the i3 would “continue beyond 2024.” Then, in June 2021, it was made public that BMW intended to stop selling the i3 in the US as early as July 2022, which is the current confirmed end-of-production date for the model. In terms of naming, the demise of the i3 is also intriguing: A completely electric BMW 3 Series will be introduced in China, and it may carry the i3 moniker.
The final BMW i3 electric vehicles have been delivered.
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.
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.
BMW might produce a new i3.
At initially, BMW said that China would be the exclusive manufacturing location for the electric version of the current BMW 3 Series. Obviously, the second generation is not included. Beginning in 2027, the next-generation i3 will also be available in the United States, and BMW will have a pleasant surprise for station wagon enthusiasts.
That is what the Bimmerpost forum revealed, according to our pals at Motor1. According to a recent thread, the i3 will be produced in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, then shipped to the United States. The Neue Klasse platform, which won’t be unveiled until 2025, will support the new i3.
The new i3, which has the codename NA0, will be followed by its station wagon variant, which has the codename NA1. That’s great news for supporters of this body type who are frequently let down when they realize that the high-end products are only available in China or Europe.
At addition to the NA0 and NA1, BMW will also produce the iX3 in San Luis Potosi alongside the G45, the subsequent iteration of the combustion-engine X3, which is scheduled to make its debut in 2024. It’s odd that the G45 won’t use the Neue Klasse platform for a few months. That might not be a problem if the present X3 is just an advancement of the Cluster Architecture (CLAR), as we have heard.
The NA0 and NA1 will also be available on the European market. Both vehicles will be produced in Hungary’s Debrecen. We still don’t know how strong they will be, if they will operate with 400V or 800V systems, or how much range they will provide. The current i3 marketed in China includes a single electric motor that produces 210 kW (282 hp) and 400 Nm, as well as a 66.1 kWh battery pack (295 pound-feet). Expect a larger battery pack for increased range in the newest version.
Does the BMW i3 have a UK end date?
In response to the change, BMW claims that the base model i3 now retails for PS33,805 on the open road, while the more potent BMW i3s starts at PS34,805. The cars, which once more qualify for the incentive, will cost buyers PS31,305 and PS32,305, respectively.
The i3 has been in production for eight years as of September, but its future is guaranteed through at least 2024. According to BMW, 22,000 units have been sold in the UK and over 200,000 units have been sold globally.
The greatest alterations since it went on sale have been the inclusion of the sporty BMW i3s in 2017 and the withdrawal of the petrol-engined i3 Range Extender model a year later. Since then, it has had very few design changes.
Due to its wider track and stronger suspension, the i3s produces 13 horsepower and 15 pound-feet more torque than the normal model, as well as greater handling. Its declared range, however, is just between 150 and 173 miles. The i3 can go 182-190 miles on a single charge.
The i3’s projected production and supply to the UK have not changed, he claimed. “The BMW i3 will continue to be produced well past the traditional model lifecycle, through at least 2024. This comes as a result of the model’s ongoing success in sales across the globe since its launch in 2013.”
The i3 and the i8 plug-in hybrid sports coupe were sold together up until last year as part of BMW’s first batch of electrified production vehicles.
The BMW i3 is being joined at showrooms by the BMW iX3, an electric variant of the mid-sized family SUV BMW X3 with a WLTP range of 282 miles – much more than the longest-range i3. This is because the BMW i8 is no longer for sale. In its restricted Premier Edition form, the SUV starts at PS58,850, but less expensive versions are on the way.