Zipse promises continuation of the BMW i3

The new BMW boss Oliver Zipse has decided to continue the production of the electric model i3. After sales director, Pieter Nota had said in September that there were no plans for a successor to the i3, Zipse has now put a stop to rumours of a possible production stop.

Zipse made it clear to the regional newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung: “The i3 will continue to be produced, no question about it. The car is already an icon today. Which car can claim this after only six years? Icons tick according to a different logic, they don’t have a classic successor, they always remain true to themselves in essence.” Today, the i3 is more in demand than ever and will “make another leap in battery and operating concepts”.

“We are growing with the i3 every year – in Europe this year by around 20 per cent. The investments have been written off, we earn money with every i3. Why in God’s name should we give up this car, which is now at the height of its time? We are sure that the i3 still has great potential,” says the BMW CEO.

The i3 is known as one of the pioneer electric cars on the market. BMW launched the 2013 model as a test model in order to sound out the market. It is based on a specially designed platform, which made the battery-electric vehicle an expensive venture for the group right from the start. With battery values of 60 Ah and 22 kWh, the first generation was not yet as long-range as the current generation. The first battery update followed in 2016 with 94 Ah and 33.2 kWh capacity. With the most recent switch to 120 Ah cells in 2018, the range then increased to up to 310 kilometres according to WLTP measurements. The passenger cell made of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic has been preserved to this day.

faz.net (in German with paywall)

4 Comments

about „Zipse promises continuation of the BMW i3“

Matthew Kennedy

20.10.2019 um 10:20

Brilliant news, I’ll be getting one in the next year or so.

Steven M. Heller

21.10.2019 um 15:00

Many EV buyers are just as price conscious as any other car buyer. The i3 never targeted entry level EV buyers with it's low range and high price. The leaf was also a pioneer, but it's latest entrant has a range of 226 miles EPA. The i3 is simply too costly to compete in this segment

Robert Flatt

21.10.2019 um 11:13

Great news.....my partner has recently bought a used Ex-BMW Head Office 2017 i3 Rex through our local dealer and it is a revelation in motoring. Smooth, almost silent, super lively performance and we get 136 miles to a 4 hour home charge.....Plus the on board Rex (Range Extender) has another 94 miles in hand should you run low on charge. Our ‘17 year model is 0 Tax and we can automatically charge at off-peak rates using Green electricity.It’s a great shame that latest Rex versions are penalised by this short sighted government that can’t tell the difference between an old fashioned Hybrid cop-out and the brilliant BMW solution.Also, BMW didn’t do itself any favours in not telling the public about this fantastic high tech car with its many innovative features. We only found out what it offered after grilling the dealers i3 salesman for an hour or so and having a 24 hour loan car to ‘play’ with.

Wolfgang Becker

25.10.2019 um 19:25

We also have an i3 since 4 years and it is still far ahead of all competitors in terms of green production, energy saving, passenger space, driving smoothness, power and fun. Stay innovative and ahead BMW!