BMW may discontinue i3 and i8 before launching its next-gen EVs
According to an Automotive News report, German automaker BMW plans to discontinue its i3 all-electric compact car and i8 plug-in hybrid sports car ahead of introducing its next-generation electric vehicles (EVs).
BMW i3 and i8 are German automaker’s current-generation electric vehicles which marked the launch of the ‘i’ electric sub-brand in the US in 2014. The i3 was updated by BMW in 2017, while BMW i8 is scheduled to get a freshened coupe variant and new roadster version this spring.
The Automotive News report, based on the information shared by BMW officials, has revealed that the automaker’s move to discontinue the current-generation models of i3 and the i8 before launching a new generation of EVs is an open decision.
The disclosure by BMW officials about a possible discontinuation of i3 and i8 electric vehicles comes against the backdrop of the automaker’s plans to introduce its next-generation EV line-up, comprising the i4 and the iNext EVs, in 2020 and 2021.
During the course of a least-week interview with Automotive News, Stefan Juraschek, BMW’s head of electric powertrain, has said that i3 and i8 were basically the automaker’s “technology showcases”, and added: “These two cars were not developed as a family that we can expand in different ways or maybe five or 10 derivatives.”
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