End of production

[Anonymous]

Yeah, this was posted on FB by a New Jersey BMW Dealer two days ago:

I wish I had better news to report. July has been communicated as the final production month for i3 in the US market. The final month of ordering has eliminated HK sound due to the global chip shortages. The final remaining order slots in the USA as of today is as follows:
i3BEV - 139
i3REX - 0
i3S BEV - 16
i3S REX - 23
I have two i3S BEV slots left that could flip into production by next week. If you are interested please message me. If you are not in the northeast then please reach out to your local dealer today if you are trying to secure one of the last vehicles for the US market. The turnaround is 2-3 months with shipping once the production starts depending on your region of the country.

 

[gt1]

I persuaded the dealer to look harder and they were able to order a car to the specs I wanted, which will look exactly like the one I currently have. This time I decided to get HK audio, but it is no longer being offered.

 

[DamianLynch]

I wonder how long they will support the owners with replacement battery packs?

 

[alohart]

I wonder how long they will support the owners with replacement battery packs?

I think that many countries require auto manufacturers to support discontinued models for many years. I would expect a decade of new parts availability with used parts available longer.

With over 200k i3's manufactured, I expect 3rd-party battery pack rebuilders to offer replacement modules and packs with new or good used cells.

 

[Anonymous]

With over 200k i3's manufactured, I expect 3rd-party battery pack rebuilders to offer replacement modules and packs with new or good used cells.

Ditto what Art posted. Though likely expensive - have heard HV battery swap numbers like $16,000 mentioned. Add to that the data on the HV batteries from Samsung that rate the 94 Ah for 4,600 charge cycles at 25 degrees C to what Samsung considers End-of-Life for an EV battery pack - 80% capacity. 4,600 cycles equates to more than 524,000 miles (more than 843,000 km). Don't know if it would make economic sense to spend $16K on a new battery pack for a car with half-a-million miles on it.

https://insideevs.com/news/338067/bmw-i3-samsung-sdi-94-ah-battery-rated-for-524000-miles/

 

[EVMan]

I wanted to reply to this

"In general for any BMW in US market you should either lease or buy used/CPO."

While i understand what you mean, My thought would would be opposite - in general , people purchasing luxury brands are less likely to to buy a used car . and since many of them are rich enough , not to need to lease...it either. Many are retired old people with money

But people with money are wise , not to be taken for a ride. they will buy something else , instead of leasing or buying a 2nd hand or throwing away money on a new one

 

[Anonymous]

While i understand what you mean, My thought would would be opposite - in general , people purchasing luxury brands are less likely to to buy a used car . and since many of them are rich enough , not to need to lease...it either. Many are retired old people with money

People with money are wise , not to be taken for a ride. they will buy something else , instead of leasing or buying a 2nd hand or throwing away money on a new one

Need has nothing to do with it. Actually, rich people overwhelmingly lease cars. The rich are 'money-smart', and don't buy depreciating assets, like cars, if they can help it. As well, most rich people have some sort of business interests and their car lease payments often become a business expense/tax write-off. Ask any luxury car dealer, including BMW, and they will tell you that 80% of the new cars driven off their lot are leased.