BMW speaks plain language: E-car classic is counted
BMW is heralding the end of an era this year: Production of the i3 – Bavaria’s first purely electric car – will be discontinued in the summer. You don’t have a real successor in store.
No more cult e-car: BMW discontinues i3
The end of the i3 was foreseeable, but now the end comes unexpectedly suddenly: The first BMW electric car will be discontinued in the summer of 2022. Previously, there was talk of continuing to build the compact Stromer in Leipzig until 2024. Now it’s already over in July, there should be a total of 250,000 pieces by then.
With the i3, BMW was one of the in Germany Pioneers of electromobility. The purely electric car was introduced back in 2013, but there was also a range extension version with a small petrol engine for extra range.
Today, the i3 is particularly noticeable when compared to current electric cars fallen out of time despite an update from 2018. Especially in terms of design language, the old electric car also stands out from the rest of the Bavarian range. The time came surprisingly suddenly. At first it was said that it would continue until 2024. Then it was 2023, now it’s only five months away, as BMW confirms (source: car).
Apparently they are not planning a successor to the i3. Instead, BMW wants them Fill a gap in the market with the sister company Mini Electric. It already has the advantage of icon status. The figures for the electric Mini also suggest that the strategy could work. However, just last December it became clear that the i3 has not been beaten, at least not yet – on the contrary, new registrations have recently increased significantly (source: going electric).
The latest feature for electric cars from BMW looks particularly good on large bodies:
Outdated: i3 bows to the market for electric cars
But the market is likely to move away from the BMW i3: The BMW is also trending towards massive SUVs, whether as a combustion engine or an electric car. With smaller electric cars, on the other hand, manufacturers are trying to sell a young, modern and sustainable lifestyle. The Mini adapts easily to this image.
It remains to be seen whether BMW wants to do this under its own name or whether it will continue to rely on larger electric cars such as the iX3 or the top model iX. In any case, special features such as the color change with E Ink look much better on large bodies.
