MUNICH: It may seem like an odd time to kill off a futuristic small electric car but that is exactly what premium maker BMW plans to do this summer.
The last plug-in BMW i3 will roll off the production line in the Germany city of Leipzig in June, by which time around 250,000 models will have been sold.
The iconic car with its narrow body on skinny tyres was originally meant to remain in the range until 2024 but according to German industry gazette Automobilwoche, the decision to halt production sooner was taken last year.
It seems the runabout must make way for a new electric car in the range, one which will launch first in China carrying the i3 badge. Leipzig also wants to make room to assemble the new MINI Countryman, which will be available in pure-electric, plug-in and in combustion-engined form.
The high-roof i3 hatchback was new territory for BMW, an electric runabout with a radical upright design and expensive carbon-fibre parts designed to compensate for the weight of the batteries.
The i3 made its debut as a concept at the 2011 IAA International Motor Show in Frankfurt Germany, where it was used to shuttle journalists around the showground.
They were impressed by the silent running and the use of unusual and sustainable interior materials such as hemp mixed with plastic for the door panels. Leather, now taboo in sustainable new rides, was still an option, albeit tanned in a green way by using olive-leaf extract. The fascia was fashioned from environmentally-refined wood from certified cultivation in Europe.
The i3 used a new power-train with a 130-kilowatt (170-horsepower) electric motor running on lithium-ion batteries. A later range-extended model used a twin-cylinder petrol engine from a scooter.
The combustion engine only charged the battery and did not power the wheels directly. Some owners complained that the range-extended i3 still ran out of steam in hilly terrain and the solution was always a compromise.
The i3 was once one of the world’s best-selling electric cars but development proved very costly. Rumour has it that the huge expense prompted BMW to drop out of Formula One racing.
The carbon parts proved defective and BMW invested huge sums in getting things right. The car had a good safety rating but the carbon-fibre-reinforced bodywork was vulnerable in crashes and it was a pain to fix, especially if the floor-mounted batteries were damaged.
Despite its unconventional looks, the i3 was popular in Germany and some owners swear by them. Many were bought by car-sharing companies and are still in the fleet.
Michael Specht from Hamburg told the Autobild that his i3 bought in 2014 was “the best car I ever bought”. He has covered around 100,000km since then
Specht calls the runabout a “iPhone 1 on wheels”, a reference to its pioneering status but modest range by modern electric car standards. The i3 can manage 120km between charges in electric mode when temperatures are warm and around 90km in winter.
The BMW i3 also needs some tender loving care if it is to last well and Specht charges his example slowly to ensure battery longevity.
A recent workshop check revealed that 85 per cent of the original battery capacity was still available. Specht turned down a chance to renew the cells in 2016. BMW wanted 9,000 euros for the job.
The i3 certainly boosted BMW’s green credentials at a time when many other makers looked down their noses at electric cars.
BMW even used 700 used batteries taken from refitted i3s to create an electric storage farm at the Leipzig plant in 2017. This permitted the automaker to offset the intermittent nature of wind power by linking it to the local power grid.
Keyword: Bye, bye i3: BMW to halt production of iconic electric car