Production in Germany is expected to end in July, with the gap left by the i3 to be filled by the iX1 and the electric Mini.
With the expansion of BMW‘s i line, the manufacturer should end production of the i3, which was the first 100% electric vehicle to be marketed in Brazil, in 2014. The hatch will be replaced in the brand’s catalog by the iX1, an electric version of the third generation of the X1. It should be launched later this year, with production at the plant in Regensburg, Germany, until 2024, then moving on to the plant in Debrecen, Hungary, once construction is complete.

According to the British magazine Autocar, production of the i3 at the factory in Leipzig, Germany, will end in July. Afterwards, the plant will undergo a redesign to start producing the third generation of the Mini Countryman, still in the second half of the year.

In addition to the iX1, BMW is betting on the Electric Mini to fill the gap that will be left by the i3. The Electric Mini is already sold in the Brazilian market and will undergo changes in early 2023, in a project developed in partnership between BMW and China’s Great Wall.

The i3 debuted as a concept in 2011, reaching the European market in 2013 and Brazil the following year. Initially, the hatch had an electric motor and a range extension system in which a small combustion engine acted as a generator for the battery. That is, the combustion system did not drive the wheels directly and that is why the i3 was the first 100% electric model to be sold here. Its range was up to 300 km with the REX system.

In 2017 it won its first facelift, which arrived here only in 2019 delivering 335 km of autonomy in the entry versions or 440 km in the configuration with the range extender (REX). In 2020, the i3 celebrated the milestone of 200,000 units produced. Today, the i3 is on sale in Brazil in the 120Ah BEV Full version, for R$319,950.