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.
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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.
Sadly, the BMW i3’s production has now come to an end.
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.
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 discontinues the cutting-edge i3 electric car in favor of more widely available EVs.
The BMW i3, a compact electric vehicle with a lot of innovation, is no longer available, at least not in the United States.
According to a dealer warning cited by BMW Blog last week, production of the i3 for the US market will stop in July. As of right now, BMW North America has confirmed that.
The i3 was really unique when it was introduced in 2013 as BMW’s first attempt at a mass-market electric vehicle. It featured aluminum and carbon fiber-reinforced plastic construction, as well as novel battery packaging. The i3 deviated from automobile industry conventions in every regard, as opposed to just the powertrain, unlike most other EVs.
The unconventional design didn’t, however, generate a lot of sales. Although more than 200,000 i3s have been produced, they weren’t exactly mass-market cars either.
BMW had stated that the i3 would receive yet another battery upgrade in 2021, therefore this is a U-turn from that statement.
Even for the United States, where it was expected to last longer than other markets, BMW did announce in 2019 that the range-extended i3 REx was ceasing manufacturing soon.
The discontinuation of the i3 is a sign that BMW is shifting its focus to EVs based on current models and platforms.
The i4, which will be BMW’s smallest electric vehicle for the time being and will resemble the Tesla Model 3 in size, will debut in the first quarter of 2022. Unless you count the Mini Cooper SE from the British company owned by BMW.
The future iX crossover SUV appears to be built on a platform that is also used by gasoline-powered BMW 4 Series cars, just like the i4 appears to be. BMW does intend to launch a line of vehicles under the “Neue Klasse” brand that are built on an exclusive EV platform, but not until 2025.
What will BMW use in place of the i3?
As a sort of successor to the i3, BMW teases the new electric BMW iX1, which will make its appearance later this year alongside a new ICE X1.
The innovative, if somewhat dated, BMW i3 will likely continue to be sold until 2024, according to BMW. However, they later had a change of heart and announced last year that i3 manufacture would stop in July. But what will take the i3’s place?
Therefore, we need to look at the BMW X1 as the foundation for an i3 replacement. It will be updated this year and will be available not only in ICE versions but also as the BMW iX1 with an EV drivetrain. As BMW’s EVs start to really roll out, any i3 will now be a saloon take on the i4.
BMW has created a teaser sketch (above) to give us a preview of that arrival later this year. Although we already know what it will look like without the need for a BMW insider.
The new IX3 isn’t that dissimilar from the current model, which has a large kidney grille that has been squared off, blue highlights around the grille, and air vents that are likely to be closed off.
Although there are currently no data on the power or battery capacity, BMW claims that the iX1 will have a range of 250–270 miles and share its platform with the ICE X1 vehicles.
In the weeks and months ahead of the iX1’s release, which will happen shortly after the new ICE X1 comes, expect additional information about the device.
Will the BMW i3 make a comeback?
During the i3’s 8-year product life, BMW produced 250,000 units, but the time has passed and BMW is now focusing on future electric vehicles. Because the EV market in 2022 will be significantly different from that in 2013 or 2014, BMW has made the decision that the i3 is no longer appropriate for this market.
What does the BMW i3’s future hold?
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.