Even if the inventive little BMW i3 has been on life support for some time, it is nevertheless difficult to accept BMW’s news that production has come to a stop.
Yes, the i3 has officially died eight and a half years after its debut. Just a few days ago, according to BMW, the 250,000th copy was produced in Leipzig, and the last ten vehicles received a special HomeRun edition specification.
The HomeRun variants come with 20-inch wheels, new Frozen Dark Grey or Frozen Red II paint finishes, and practically every i3 option imaginable. It sounds like certain component bins needed to be cleaned out. That entails a heated leather instrument panel, wireless charging, a rear-view camera, an electric glass roof, adaptive LED headlights, heated leather seats in “Vernasca Dark Truffle,” a Harman Kardon speaker system, and more.
In This Article...
The i3 is being retired, according to BMW, because customers want larger EVs.
The BMW i3 is approaching a well-deserved retirement after nine years on the market and more than 200,000 units produced. Even though the news wasn’t unexpected, it’s nevertheless disappointing to learn that the oddball EV won’t be around after July. Due to its early years’ dismal sales, the little hatch was introduced prior to the electric boom. Well, the absence of government subsidies for electric vehicles also contributed.
While the first half of a vehicle’s life cycle is typically when sales are at their peak, this wasn’t the case for the i3. In order to keep up with the high demand, BMW decided to extend the model’s production life. Although all good things must come to an end, you might say that it aged like a wonderful wine. Why is the business cutting the power right now?
Customers’ preferences have changed, and they are now searching for different features while buying EVs. Particularly, the usual consumer prefers a larger, more useful vehicle than the i3. That is the justification offered by a BMW representative in an interview with the sister website of Automotive News in Germany, Automobilwoche. However, it’s not the only one.
The firm official continued by stating that electric automobiles should appear “natural” in the sense that they should resemble models powered by combustion engines. That’s definitely not the case with the i3, though. The little hatchback maintains the impression of having come back from the future even though any other 2013 vehicle would appear to be more or less antiquated.
According to Automobilwoche, “quite a few BMW personnel” have considered the external design to be divisive, mostly because of the unusual shape. The styling has reportedly “deterred many customers.” Whether i3 has generated any money with the EV and its range-extending equivalent is still an open question.
Since BMW shaped them like conventional automobiles, the other EVs don’t have the same “issue” with their designs as the i3. The same will apply to the 7 Series/i7 and 5 Series/i5 couples. Design-wise, the i3’s indirect replacements, the iX1 and MINI Countryman EV, won’t upset the apple cart. Additionally, the BMW representative thinks that because the two are significantly larger and hence more spacious than the i3, they might potentially generate substantially higher sales than the i3.
The top 10 were HomeRun Edition-only BMW i3s.
After eight and a half years and 250,000 units produced, the production of the BMW i3/i3s has ended.
The BMW i3 was created in the BMW Group facility in Leipzig, Germany, and distributed to more than 74 nations.
It was a ground-breaking vehicle for the business as it was one of the first standalone all-electric models to hit the market and the first series battery-electric model from BMW.
A passenger cell built of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) and an aluminum chassis made the BMW i3 a distinctive vehicle.
The business also marketed a REx (range-extender version) of the i3/i3s, which has a small gasoline engine for emergency use, in addition to the 100% electric i3/i3s (sporty version). The car’s battery capacity increased over time, from 21.6 kWh in the first iteration to 33.2 kWh (27.2 kWh useable) and 42.2 kWh for up to 307 km (191 miles) of WLTP range.
According to BMW, it is also the most popular electric vehicle in the world in the premium compact sector with 250,000 units sold worldwide.
BMW i3 production ceased at the end of June 2022. The last 10 are unique BMW i3s HomeRun Edition models. The completion of the automobiles in the assembly hall was open to customers.
HomeRun Edition trim for the BMW i3:
- Frozen Dark Grey or Frozen Dark Red II are two new BMW Individual paint colors.
- Double-spoke light alloy wheels measuring 20 inches in diameter
- a glass roof that is electrically powered
- solar-controlling glass
- LED headlights that can adjust
- Vernasca Dark Truffle leather upholstery, a leather instrument panel, a leather steering wheel with galvanized detailing, a Carum Grey roof lining, ambient lighting, and the welcome light are all examples of the high-quality interior design of the suite.
- The Comfort package, Driving Assistant Plus, Professional navigation, wireless charging for phones, a Harman Kardon hi-fi sound system, and online entertainment with music flat rate are all included.
Some BMW i3/i3s electric vehicle components, such as battery modules or drive units, were also utilised in other EVs. The MINI Cooper SE specifically uses e-drive components (although in the front-wheel-drive configuration). Additionally, battery modules can be found in Torqeedo electric motorboats, Turkish Karsan electric buses, and Streetscooter vehicles used by the German postal service.
Due to the planned release of the next-generation fully electric MINI Countryman, the BMW Group Plant Leipzig will become the first BMW Group facility to produce both BMW and MINI vehicles.
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.