The writing has been on the wall for months now, but today, is finally official – BMW will not build a successor for the i3 electric vehicle. According to Pieter Nota, BMW Board Member responsible for Sales and Marketing, the BMW i3 will be phased out slowly while the company will focus on the next generation of electric and hybrid-plugin vehicles.
“There is no concrete plan for an i3 successor. We are now bringing electrification more into the mainstream,” Nota said.
Unveiled over 6 years ago, the first fully electric car sold by BMW received a few upgrades along the way. For example, the battery size and range were increased, and a few design updates were included.
To this day, the i3 remains a unique offering on the market, not just because of its suicide doors, but also because of its manufacturing processes. This is the only car on sale today with a carbon fiber chassis that doesn’t have a price tag in the six figures.
While the manufacturing process of the i3 is fascinating, the costs are prohibitive.
The sales of the BMW i3 have climbed 21 percent in the first half of 2019, worldwide. In Germany alone, sales of the fully electric BMW i3 surged 85 percent.
We expect the i3 to run a production line in 2020, but it remains unclear what BMW’s production plans look like in 2021.
