On January 28, Galaxy learned from foreign media that after nine years of sales, the all-electric BMW i3 will officially stop production in July 2022. It is reported that the BMW plant in Leipzig, Germany, will stop work after the completion of the production of i3 and carry out production line adjustment and renovation. In the second half of 2022, this plant will officially start producing the third generation Mini Countryman.
As the first pure electric momentum production model of the BMW brand, the i3 is a bold attempt by BMW in the electric field. Although the shape of the car and the design of the rear hinged door make it difficult for such a small hatchback to get a good response in the mainland market, it is actually the first model for BMW to use a carbon fiber space architecture. The rear wheel drive and aluminum alloy frame make the car feel extremely light and flexible. In terms of power, a 170 horsepower motor is used by default. Buyers can also choose a two-cylinder motorcycle engine with 647cc displacement as an extender, with a maximum range of 245km. In 2017, the i3's battery pack increased to 33.3 kilowatt hours, while adding 181 horsepower to the high-performance i3 S model. The drawback of i3 is that the suspension is relatively hard, which may affect driving comfort to a certain extent.
After the i3 was discontinued, BMW decided to fill the gap in the i3 with a five-seat crossover model, the iX1. According to the latest news, the iX1 launched this year will be the same as the next-generation X1 and the third-generation MINI COUNTRYMAN, using the FAAR platform, and BMW i3's DriveLife multi-aluminum platform will also be launched in history.
BMW officially confirmed in October that the total production of the i3 had exceeded 200000. When production stops, the total production of i3 is expected to exceed 250000 vehicles. It is not clear whether BMW intends to launch a successor to the i3, and the news will continue to follow.
