The electric car BMW i3 will be produced even longer. "The i3 will continue to be built until the year 2024," said Julian Friedrich, spokesman for the plant in Leipzig compared to the "Leipziger Volkszeitung". The fact that the model, which has been built since 2013, rolls off the production line for another five years, could also have something to do with the fact that BMW has to meet the new CO2 requirements.
As recently as September, BMW marketing director Pieter Nota had hinted that there would be no successor to the i3. At that time he did not name a definitive date for the production stop. Nota justified the decision with the fact that BMW wanted to push the electrification of other models. As BMW updated its models after seven years at the latest, experts had expected a production stop soon. In addition, increasingly pushing new electric cars on the market, which are technically clearly superior to the i3. Therefore, the fewest expected such an extension of the production period.
BMW needs the i3
According to BMW, the i3 is still economically very successful. According to the manufacturer, sales increased in 2019 by about 20 percent. There are therefore no reasons to stop production. In addition, the i3 is BMW's only electric car. As long as there is no other battery model in the portfolio, Bavaria relies on the i3 in order to meet the more stringent CO2 requirements from 2020 onwards.
In order to keep the i3 competitive in the next few years, BMW wants to further upgrade the model technically. For example, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse announced that the battery and the operating concept of the i3 should be further developed technically. Currently, the 38,000-euro electric model has a range of 359 kilometers to NEDC standard. According to BMW, this should make it possible for Real to load up to 260 kilometers.
photo gallery
20 pictures
Photo gallery: The Electric News 2020By contrast, the i8 hybrid sports car, which was released shortly after the i3, will be discontinued at the end of April 2020. This model is also produced in Leipzig. BMW had invested 400 million euros in the construction of production for the two models in Leipzig.
