BMW i3: a well-deserved retirement after a great success
Last February, we already announced that the BMW i3 was going to retire, a little earlier than expected. The model was to remain in the catalog until 2024 but BMW decided otherwise, due to a change in strategy. The latest models produced at the plant in Leipzig, Germany, were scheduled for July 2022, and the promise is kept. The manufacturer has just communicated on the official end of the i3, which passed an important milestone just before disappearing.
250,000 copies produced
Launched in 2013, at a time when the electric market was still in its infancy, the BMW i3 was a real bet for the Bavarian manufacturer. This concept car-like model, with antagonistic doors, an aluminum chassis and a sleek, recycled interior, did not seem destined for a great career. However, it is finally a great commercial success for the small German electric sold in 74 countries. The brand announces that one of the last examples produced on the Leipzig chains is the n°250,000. This one, a black copy, has put on specific stickers for the occasion: the number on the windshield and a message “Danke!” (thanks, in German) on the rear window.
Thanks to the i3, BMW has also cut its teeth on electromobility. The manufacturer now offers increasingly advanced models, often on platforms shared with thermal models (i4, i7, iX1 and iX3 …). The Leipzig plant, which no longer produces the i3, is not abandoned. It will take advantage of this expertise to produce components for electric motors. From 2023, the site will produce both BMWs and Minis for the first time. For example, the plant will host the future 100% electric Mini Countryman.
