The time is ticking on the BMW i3, as the German carmaker announced that it would stop selling the electric vehicle in the United States this year.
The retirement of the BMW electric car coincides with the introduction of BMW’s i4 and iX electric cars.
BMW introduced the i3 in 2013, a year before the comeback of electric vehicles.
It provided BMW a leading position in the electric transition, but the automaker squandered that advantage by failing to introduce a new all-electric vehicle for seven years.
The German carmaker is now prepared to extend its electric vehicle portfolio.
It has already released the BMW iX3 outside of the United States, and the BMW i4 and BMW iX are set to arrive in the United States early next year.
While BMW has previously stated that it will continue to produce the BMW i3 until 2024, it has never stated if it will continue to sell it in the United States, where sales have been disappointing.
Now, BMW Blog has received dealer correspondence indicating that the BMW i3 will be discontinued in the United States by the end of next month:
“The writing was on the wall: BMW’s late bloomer i3 would soon be phased out of the American market. According to a BMW dealer advisory, the electric i3 hatchback will reach the end of production in July 2021. In the last year, i3 inventory in the United States has been at an all-time low, and customers have had difficulty getting a manufacturing slot. According to the most recent dealer information, there are just about 180 manufacturing slots left.”
This isn’t unexpected, given that BMW i3 sales in the United States peaked in 2015 at 11,000 units and have been steadily declining since then.
The electric hatchback, on the other hand, is still selling well in several European regions, notably, Germany, where it should continue to be offered for a few more years provided the manufacturer adheres to its prior commitment.
However, it appears that the strange-looking tiny BMW i3, which, although not breaking any sales records with roughly 200,000 units sold worldwide since its debut, did make history as the first vehicle with a complete carbon fiber frame.
