BMW raises i3 prices by £3665 eight years since launch
Electric hatchback now starts from £36,690 after the government's electric car grant
BMW has raised prices of its i3 EV by £3665, meaning the entry-level car now costs from £39,690 before the government's £3000 electric car grant.
In September this year, the i3 will have been in production for eight years, with its future safeguarded until at least 2024. Since it went on sale, it has been subject to minimal design tweaks, with the biggest changes being the addition of the performance-oriented i3S range-topper in 2017, and the removal of the petrol range-extender option a year later.
Prices for the i3S, which packs 13bhp and 15lb ft more than the standard car, as well as improved dynamics courtesy of its wider track and firmer suspension, now begin at £42,220 before the grant - slightly more than a top-rung version of the new Volkswagen ID 4 electric SUV.
The exact reasons for the price hike have not been detailed by BMW, but a spokesman confirmed to Autocar that it was not related to a restriction of supply or changes to the model's planned lifecycle.
"There has been no change in the planned production or supply of the i3 to the UK," he said. "Production of the BMW i3 has been confirmed until at least 2024 - far beyond the typical model lifecycle. This is due to continued worldwide sales success of the model since its introduction in 2013."
Until last year, the i3 was sold alongside the i8 hybrid sports car as part of BMW's initial wave of electrified production cars.
With the i8 now off-sale, the i3 is being joined in dealerships by the iX3 - an all-electric version of the brand's mid-sized family SUV, offering a WLTP range of 282 miles - 124 miles more than the longest-range i3. The SUV is priced from £58,850 in its limited Premier Edition guise, but cheaper variants are set to follow.
While the i3 has been signed off for an extended production run, its position in the brand's line-up will be far less unique in the years to come. BMW is rapidly swelling its electric car family as part of a plan to launch nine new standalone electric models by 2025.
Most of the brand's core combustion models - including the 4 Series, 5 Series, 7 Series and X1 - will gain fully electric variants in the coming years. Also on the cards is a fully electric version of the 3 Series saloon, which would be expected to adopt the 'i3' moniker, though this seems unlikely given the current i3 will still be on sale when it launches, and occupies an entirely different market segment.
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