Photo: Guido Ten Brink/SB-Medien
Placing a label on the i3 was a difficult task right from the off, but one thing was pretty clear about BMW's tiny EV: it was a city car created with urban driving in mind.
That was probably why the higher hierarchy at the Bavarian company thought its measle range was enough to make it competitive, but the market response proved them wrong. The i3 may have been the best-selling EV in some European countries, but it was still far from what the carmaker had hoped for.
It wasn't just the range that dragged the i3 back, but also its high asking price. Like the i8, the company's first battery-powered car made full use of the CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer) technology which, even though cheaper than the standard carbon fiber, was still pushing the price up compared to if it used the classic steel and aluminum combination.
Finally, and this was definitely subjective, there was the design aspect. Anyone could agree the interior was very beautiful and also offered more space than one would expect given the small dimensions, but the exterior design, on the other hand, was more splitting than a hot knife through a piece of butter. Some loved it, others were simply perplexed by what they were seeing.
Well, a recent report coming from British magazine Car (via Green Car Reports) claims BMW is going to discontinue the i3 and replace it with something called iX1. The Bavarians have said that they don't plan on running a sperate line of electric vehicles but offer battery-powered versions of their regular cars instead, so this would fall in line neatly with those statements (however, the report claims the iX1 would be a separate model that would indeed have a crossover allure, but also borrow some design cues from the current i3).
It also comes shortly after news of the company trademarking all sorts of names that include the low-case 'i' in them (from 'i1' to 'i9' and from 'iX1' to 'iX9,' to be precise), so there's further evidence to support it. Besides, the iX3 has been confirmed already, so there's that as well.
The i3 moniker will live on as the electric sedan based on the 3 Series design, according to the same report, while the current bulldog-looking model will have to face its demise. The new i3 is said to come in 2022, while the iX1 crossover should make its debut during the same year, or the following one.
It wasn't just the range that dragged the i3 back, but also its high asking price. Like the i8, the company's first battery-powered car made full use of the CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer) technology which, even though cheaper than the standard carbon fiber, was still pushing the price up compared to if it used the classic steel and aluminum combination.
Finally, and this was definitely subjective, there was the design aspect. Anyone could agree the interior was very beautiful and also offered more space than one would expect given the small dimensions, but the exterior design, on the other hand, was more splitting than a hot knife through a piece of butter. Some loved it, others were simply perplexed by what they were seeing.
Well, a recent report coming from British magazine Car (via Green Car Reports) claims BMW is going to discontinue the i3 and replace it with something called iX1. The Bavarians have said that they don't plan on running a sperate line of electric vehicles but offer battery-powered versions of their regular cars instead, so this would fall in line neatly with those statements (however, the report claims the iX1 would be a separate model that would indeed have a crossover allure, but also borrow some design cues from the current i3).
It also comes shortly after news of the company trademarking all sorts of names that include the low-case 'i' in them (from 'i1' to 'i9' and from 'iX1' to 'iX9,' to be precise), so there's further evidence to support it. Besides, the iX3 has been confirmed already, so there's that as well.
The i3 moniker will live on as the electric sedan based on the 3 Series design, according to the same report, while the current bulldog-looking model will have to face its demise. The new i3 is said to come in 2022, while the iX1 crossover should make its debut during the same year, or the following one.
Worse than it appears. The next BMW i3, from the latest CAR magazine. @greenofrichmond pic.twitter.com/qhDQHDvYjE
— Jim Zellmer (@jimzellmer) January 23, 2018
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