BMW Shows Off New i3 In Face Of High Interest
Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.
BMW has been through many different phases of electrification. One of those phases involved developing the super unique and fun BMW i3 and BMW i8. We owned a 2015 BMW i3 REx for nine months in 2018–2019 and we absolutely loved it. Then production of the Tesla Model 3 was rolling, prices on it came down, and our daughter started going to kindergarten, so we decided to get the more advanced EV with much longer range (the 2015 i3 REx had just 71 miles of electric range). But we always loved the i3, and now that we need a second car and are not really in a position to buy a new car, we are looking at getting another used i3.
However, many people weren’t into the look of the original i3, and it really was just a short-term experimental model where BMW explored using carbon fiber, modern EV batteries, range extenders, and more. So, the i3 project was ended and BMW stopped producing the model August 2022.
BMW is finally launching a new i3, and there’s a lot of excitement around the vehicle. The company has done well with the i7, the iX, the i4, and other models, and there’s apparently a lot of excitement for the new i3. As a result, the company has just launches images of the new electric 3 Series. Unsurprisingly, this is nothing like the original i3. This is much more like a traditional BMW 3 Series. And that’s what most people want, even if there are others like me who loved the unique OG i3.
The new BMW i3, which launches with the i3 First Edition, will be first out the doors. The model will start with the 2027 model year, and Europe is expected to get the car in the fall of 2026.
The i3 50 xDrive launch model has a 108.7 kWh battery pack, can reportedly drive up to 563 miles (WLTP, which is a bit ambitious). It has 469 hp and 476 lb-ft of torque, which allows the car to go from 0–62 mph (0–100 km/h) in 4.7 seconds.
The model will be produced at BMW Plant Munich to start. Deliveries to the US won’t begin until 2027.
I’m excited. A sort of mass-market EV model from BMW is exciting news, and in the US, this is the market segment that is adopting electric vehicles the most. So, I’m eager to see if BMW can really push the model and sell it in high numbers — in Europe of course as well as the US. In the US, Cadillac has shown the way, electrifying its fleet faster than any other notable legacy automaker. BMW should have noticed that and should be aiming to catch up if not surpass the GM brand.
Sign up for CleanTechnica's Weekly Substack for Zach and Scott's in-depth analyses and high level summaries, sign up for our daily newsletter, and follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Sign up for our daily newsletter for 15 new cleantech stories a day. Or sign up for our weekly one on top stories of the week if daily is too frequent.
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
CleanTechnica's Comment Policy
