If you want a 2021 BMW i3, get to your local dealership fast. BMW has announced the end of the quirky little electric runabout, at least for American buyers. The last i3s will roll off container ships onto American roads in July.
An Unusual Vehicle for BMW, but a Good One
The i3 has always been a strange offering from a company with a reputation for sporty cars. But it has many virtues. It’s one of the most affordable BMWs at $44,450 (plus a $995 destination fee). Its unique composite chassis uses aluminum down low to house the battery and motor, and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic above to house the people. The result is extremely light. That gives the car a supple ride despite a mechanically simple (read: inexpensive to repair, at least by European standards) suspension. It threads through traffic neatly. Its small size makes it easy to park in tight urban spaces.
And it doesn’t feel like a BMW. There’s nothing wrong with a spritely urban runabout. It’s just not what most buyers expect from the builder of the adrenaline-drenched M3.
New BMW EVs Take its Place
The i3 is leaving to make way for electric vehicles that hew closer to BMW’s reputation. A spokesperson tells us, “The success of BMW i3 and the experience gained in developing and manufacturing it have laid the groundwork for the next generation of BMW electric vehicles (EVs) – the fully-electric BMW iX Sports Activity Vehicle and the BMW i4 Gran Coupe, both of which arrive in the U.S. early next year.”
The i4 is exactly the car you imagine when you hear the phrase “electric BMW.” A quick, taut-handling sport sedan, it’s available with up to 530 horsepower. Even its most powerful version, BMW says, gets 240 miles of range – well beyond the 153 of the departing i3. The i4 will start at $55,400.
The iX, meanwhile, is something entirely new. The iX starts at $83,200. It is slated to reach dealerships in the first three months of 2022.
A midsize SUV, the iX offers the performance one expects from a BMW (there’s only one version, and it lays down 516 horsepower). But it also pioneers new approaches to EV sustainability. Designers built the iX to be easily recycled at the end of its useful life, and with an interior crafted from sustainable materials, including reclaimed wood and fishing nets.
If the little i3 is the one you want, though, hurry. BMWblog reports that the car’s Leipzig factory can handle about 180 more orders from the U.S. before the car’s July end date.
