BMW i3

 The BMW i3 is set to end production in just six months time, after a run of nine years and around 250,000 units sold.

In an interview with Autocar, a BMW spokesperson confirmed the final example of the compact electric five-door is due to roll off BMW’s production line in Leipzig, Germany in July ahead of a reorganisation of the manufacturing facility in preparation for a start of production for the upcoming third-generation Mini Countryman during the second half of 2022.  

Previewed in concept car form in 2011 prior to a UK launch in 2013, the i3 was the first BMW model to offer a pure-electric driveline, preceding the larger, Chinese-produced BMW iX3 introduced in 2021.

The quirky hatchback, with its rear-hinged rear doors and expensive carbonfibre construction, will be indirectly replaced in the line-up by the BMW iX1, an electric version of the third-generation BMW BMW X1. The five-seat crossover, set to launch this year, was originally planned to be produced at a new manufacturing facility in Debrecen, Hungary. However, delays in construction to the greenfield site mean the i3 successor will now be produced at BMW’s Regensburg factory until 2024, according to Autocar sources.  

As with the next X1 and new Mini Countryman, the new entry-level i model is based on BMW’s FAAR platform – a move that also signals the end of production for the aluminium-intensive DriveLife platform that underpins the i3.

As well as the iX1, BMW says it will rely on a new second-generation version of the Mini Electric to fill the void left by the departure of the i3.  

The new Mini model, due out in early 2023, is being developed in a joint venture between BMW and Chinese car maker Great Wall Motors called Spotlight Automotive. It is set to be produced at a new Spotlight Automotive factory that's currently under construction in Zhangjiagang, China.