On 6 August, BMW officially launched series production of the model at its Munich headquarters, where a particularly steep ramp-up curve awaits. The firm aims to scale production from zero to high volumes in the shortest possible time to meet the strong demand for the vehicles promptly. “The models of the Neue Klasse are proving to be very popular. The second Neue Klasse model, the BMW i3, is already seeing strong demand since orders opened ahead of its launch,” said Jochen Goller, BMW’s Board Member for Sales.
In preparation for series production of the i3, as well as future Neue Klasse models, BMW extensively refurbished its plant near Munich’s Olympiapark. The construction of a new body shop and a new assembly hall, including logistics areas, took around four years. In December, final functional tests of the new facilities were completed, paving the way for pre-series production of the i3 to begin in February – though at the time, the new electric model was kept literally under wraps, with the i3 concealed under camouflage foil for its first public appearance.
By mid-March, the camouflage was removed, and since then, the fully electric 3 Series was revealed in its entirety. Given the high level of interest in the vehicle, which follows the electric SUV BMW iX3 as the second model of the Neue Klasse, BMW brought forward the opening of the order books for the i3 – with a ‘First Edition‘ of the electric mid-size saloon becoming available to order since mid-June with a starting price tag of €75,340. BMW has also already disclosed the price for the later base version, the i3 50 xDrive: the entry-level variant of the electric 3 Series will start at €65,900.
