This is the new BMW i3

AutoWeek has released the first photos of the new BMW i3 from the database of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Unlike the i3 launched in 2013, the new BMW i3 is not an extravagant high hatchback, but an electrically powered version of the 3-series. In the same way that the i4 is an electric variant of the 4 Series Gran Coupé and the i5 and i7 electric versions of successively become the new 5 and 7 Series.

As mentioned, the plates of the new BMW i3 come from China and so it is not surprising that we have an electric version of the extended 3-series in front of us here. In China, consumers are fond of models with an extended wheelbase. The i3 in these photos is 4.87 meters long and has a wheelbase of 2.97 meters, which is strikingly several centimeters more than the 2.94 centimeters that the extended 3 Series in China between its front and rear axles. has. The European 3-series sedan has a wheelbase of 2.85 meters.

BMW i3

That wheelbase is of course not the most interesting of the i3, that is its powertrain. According to the information supplied to the Chinese authorities by the Brilliance BMW partnership, the i3 has a 340 hp electric motor. This suggests that the electric 3-series has the same powertrain as the BMW i4 as the eDrive 40, despite the i3 visible in these photos being called ‘eDrive 35 Li’. We are therefore aiming for the BMW i3 to be available in more power versions. Unfortunately, we do not know how large the battery pack and the range is. If we take the i4 eDrive 40i as a guideline, it could well be that the i3 also has an 80.7 kWh battery pack and can squeeze about 590 WLTP kilometers from it. According to the first available information, the BMW i3 weighs 2,029 kilograms and has a top speed of 180 km/h

From the outside, the new BMW i3 is immediately recognizable as an i-model. It has a closed kidney grille which, like the special and relatively closed light-alloy wheels and the pronounced rear bumper, is decorated with blue accents characteristic of the i-label.

BMW i3 (Europe, test model)

Europe

Is this BMW i3 also coming to Europe? We can’t say for sure yet. BMW is expanding its i-label and such a model could therefore also find its way to the charging station in our part of the world. A possible European version will of course not be completely identical to the copy visible in these photos. This model was developed by Brilliance BMW for the Chinese market and is therefore based on the extended 3-series, which was not delivered in Europe. BMW is in any case in Europe testing with an electric variant of the 3-series.

Since the introduction of the first i3 in 2013, BMW has sold more than 8,900 units in our country. The i3 experienced its peak year in 2019, when 2,861 copies found an owner in the Netherlands. In 2020, the sales counter ended at 1,220 units and 451 units were registered in the first eleven months of this year.