Europe: BMW to discontinue range extender option for i3

The rumours have now been confirmed. BMW says they will no longer offer their i3 electric cars with a range extender in Europe. Only in the USA and Japan, they will continue to sell the i3REx and they have interesting reasons.

In a statement retrieved by Autocar, BMW says: “The Range Extender i3 will cease production and we will only sell the pure-electric version going forward. With the gains in pure-electric range, together with the increasing availability of rapid charging facilities we believe the customer demand is shifting to a pure-electric model.”

This however is true only for Europe, where BMW sees fast-charging facilities being set up rapidly, also through their own efforts in the IONITY network for high power charging. However, the new EVs by BMW will only allow for CCS charging at 50 kW for now. Moreover, it is Europe were the upgraded BMW i3 and i3S will first hit the market no later than next month.

Following the facelift, both versions of the electric car will then have a range of up to 310 km according to WLTP standards thanks to a new battery packing 42.2 kWh and 120 Ah. The power pack is made up of eight modules with twelve battery cells each.

Interestingly enough, BMW is not taking off the range extender due to low sales. In fact, the range extender version of the i3 formerly made up 60 percent of sales, despite a higher price tag over the standard car. The Range Extender i3 will still be available in North America and Japan, where demand remains higher than Europe and the rest of the world.

For the new models, BMW has decided to the upgraded electric cars with the range increase at almost the same price as the previous version. This means that the i3 will cost 38,000 euros, compared to the previous 37,550 euro, while the i3s carries a 41,600 euro price-tag (previously 41,150). This is due to a decrease in battery prices says BMW.

autocar.co.uk