BMW i3 departs the US next month
BMW's pioneering i3 is officially discontinued, so if you want one, act quickly.
Pour one out for the humble BMW i3 -- a pioneering small car that helped introduce the world to electric vehicles. BMW Blog first reported the i3's end of production last Friday and BMW confirmed the decision with Roadshow. The company said US production of the EV ends in July, with no mention of a direct replacement.
"The success of the BMW i3 and the experience gained in developing and manufacturing it have laid the groundwork for the next generation of BMW electric vehicles -- the fully electric BMW iX and the BMW i4 Gran Coupe, both of which arrive in the US early next year," the company said in a statement.
The i3 wasn't only one of the first purpose-built EVs, that is a car built from the ground-up with electric power, but it also uses carbon-fiber reinforced plastic and aluminum in its construction. The materials remain extraordinarily advanced for a production vehicle even today, and both the i3 and now-departed i8 helped launch BMW's i division for electrified vehicles.
That torch will carry on with the i4 and iX as BMW said. And the firm won't stop there with its EV efforts, either. However, whenever we look back on any of BMW's electric doings, we'll always remember the quirky i3 as the start of it all.
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