BMW is planning to phase out i3 electric hatchback

KUALA LUMPUR: BMW has been planning to phase out the i3 model, which was the company’s first offering as a full battery-powered car. According to the reports, the company will not develop a successor to i3 electric hatchback since it will now focus on battery and plug-in technology for other models. Although the discontinuation of the six-year-old model may be disappointing, the good news is that the company may launch a few electric vehicles in the coming year.

In regards to the above plan, Pieter Nota, the marketing director of BMW, has said, “there is no concrete plan for an i3 successor. We are now bringing electrification more into the mainstream.” Notably, the company is looking forward to emphasis on the plug-in hybrids as its best selling vehicles with a motive to run emission-free power vehicles in the city over a longer distance.

BMW launched the i3 back in 2013, thus completing a six-year course as of now. The aim behind the launch of i3 was to check the response of the consumers to EVs. The company had successfully sold 150,000 i3 models so far. Going through the reports, it can be seen that the sale of the first half of 2019 was 21%, which is relatively higher than last year’s same period sale. With this, it can be said that the demand for electric cars has increased.

By stopping the production and sales of i3, BMW wants to promote plug-in hybrids as its best-selling cars. Besides, the company also plans to sell 13 full EVs by 2023.

Furthermore, BMW has finalised an agreement with Motiv Power Systems in the month of January, this year, to provide battery packs to integrate into Motiv’s EPIC (Electric Powered Intelligent Chassis) for commercial vehicles.

Also Read: BMW Malaysia introduces locally-assembled 3 Series