Despite being six years old, the BMW i3 continues to stay near the top of the best selling electric and plug-in vehicles in Europe in July 2019. According to CleanTechnica, the BMW i3 ranks fifth in the list, after the Renault Zoe, Tesla Model 3, Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid.
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The European passenger plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market had around 36,000 registrations in July, +32 percent year over year. Overall, the electrified market has grown 34 percent in 2019.
In July, while plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) continued nosediving (-19% YoY), all-electrics (BEVs) almost doubled (+90%) to some 24,000 units, responsible for 67% of all plug-in sales last month, 66% year to date (YTD). The BEV share was at 1.9% by itself. Adding PHEVs to the tally, the share climbs to 2.8%. The 2019 PEV share is now at 2.9% (2.0% for BEVs alone), above the 2.5% result of 2018.,
Renault sold 3,969 Zoe models in July, beating the Model 3 with 3,478 units. With the 62 kWh version starting to be delivered in volume, the Nissan Leaf model hit 2,858 units last month.
The Mitsubishi Outlander hybrid scored 2,487 registrations in July (up 105%).
BMW’s i3 reported a sale increase of 36 percent in July, or 2,354 units. As a reminder, BMW only sells the BEV version in Europe, without the REx (Range Extender) model offered in the US. Germany had 967 units sold, followed by Norway (207) and the UK (300).
Three other BMW Group models are included in Top 12. The BMW 225xe Active Tourer PHEV was purchased by 1,045 customers, followed by the MINI Countryman PHEV (1,033 units) and BMW 530e (842 units).
Year-to-date, the BMW i3 still ranks fifth, with 18,724 units sold in Europe, at a significant distance from the market leader in Europe – the Tesla Model 3 (41,258 units).
If BMW AG had the correct vision to design a carbon fiber chassis with the dimensions of the 4 GC, loaded the floor pan with enough battery packs for ~200 miles and G20 subframe, we wouldn’t need to see the humongous gap between the i3 and the Model 3 today (and the forum trolls wouldn’t have to meltdown into denial).
It’s just that simple, with BMW’s vast resources and capabilities, they could’ve managed this with one hand tied behind their back. The right executive vision makes or breaks corporations.
BMW still has the original carbon-fiber i4 design in their CAD system backup for sure. But, with the comments from BMW’s board member that they see life for the diesel engine for 20+ plus years, you can see there’s no commitment to build a Class Leading and World Leading i4 electric. The i3 is it. Nothing better will be coming from BMW. They’re protecting their gas assets. And that’s a management blunder in my opinion.
Sadly short sighted to abandon their world leading CF mass production capabilities. A victim I fear of regime change politics instead of long term product development. Just stupid beyond belief.
It might be world leading but it’s still such a big mess and hard to get a positive business case out of it. Especially in such high volumes that the i4 will probably have.
I think the announced i4 is the right way to go, and it will be a huge success at the right time.
I am sure the iNext will cover the “new customer” base part ;)
Such “a big mess” BMW is selling more i3 than ever. Wait, what?
H. L. Mencken is still correct, I fear.
Every survey request from bmw over the years,I have suggested they build the i5, I could do with an extra seat and more room in the back, I guess the i4 would have sufficed, I will not be getting one of their tin boxes.
The i3, while not a hit with most existing BMW fans, brought a lot of new customers to the brand. I am one of them. I see everyone complaining that the i3 is not a 3 or 4 series, and I think the brand should have something for those customers too, but BMW created a unique vehicle in this premium, compact hatchback, which is a joy to drive in crowded city streets and is made from responsible materials. It was my first car ever; I would never buy a gas powered car, I needed something small and preferred a premium product to a car like the Bolt. Of course more range would be good, but for long distances fast chargers are numerous where I live.
Now BMW has to offer more variety in its electrified vehicles but they’ll also need to offer something to fans of the i3 if they want to keep all of us onboard. I keep reading in BMW forums and comments that this car is ugly and crap but it isn’t and nobody offers something like it for the moment. Please BMW, don’t forget all those customers that were brought to the brand by this quirky vehicle!
i3 was way ahead of its time and the world is just catching up. A brilliant high tech urban car.
Those that appreciate the “mega city” aspect of the i3, would you ever consider cross-shopping one of the upcoming Mini EVs?
Unfortunately the Mini seems to be a downgrade in terms of range and quality. To me, the responsible materials used in the i3 and the uniqueness of its design would make it hard to go back to a “boring” car again…
My hope comes from the rumors talking about an iX1 with a different interior that looks more like the one from the i3.
You are so right! Unfortunately the majority of people doesn’t see all these facts, especially the perfectly thought through supply chain of materials, production etc. This car is really a “green car”. And i love it too. For the city it would always be my first choice. Unfortunately I have to drive long ways on German Autobahn where I prefer my 330d :)
Not a fan of falling into a car like the Mini entry style requires.
I have driven a 60 rex now approaching four years, I would love a longer range ev but the odd litre of petrol is far more environmentaly friendly than a second vehicle, I was new to bmw, the rex was the deciding factor, even now large parts of my range are out of bounds even to longer range evs. When the uk leaves the euro zone, maybe we could get the rex again!
I also had 3 REX models so far
We just turned our ‘17 Protonic Blue 96Ah REx on Aug. 28th.
QMerit approved my app for the wireless charging program so now the pilot G30 is sitting in the garage.
As a consumer, it just doesn’t make sense that there’s literally nothing else sitting at the showroom to offer a buyer here in silicon valley. This is the real world observation of the blunder of BMW AG management in this segment of their market.
While chatting with the finance manager, I pointed at the G11 LCI’s massive kidneys and asked the finance manager how they’re selling. He surprised me by saying that those customers aren’t buying the S Class either. The revelation came full effect when he said they’ve all gone to the Model S.
Model S has been taking sales from 7 and S class for a while now. Hence why they will all be building electric luxury sedans.
Someone should start a campaign to demand the return of the Carbon-Fiber i4.
I love the i3. It would be perfect if carried 5 people and at least 200 mile range. In hot regions the AC eats battery juice as well as highway speeds. Plus you want to keep the battery in the 20-80% range for max life. I liked the idea of the REX with a small inexpensive 2 cylinder motorcycle engine with minimal maintenance. Truthfully, 4 passengers are fine but give us 200 mile range.
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PHEVs will recover in Q4 as deliveries of the new models start en masse. There are EU emission regulation changes that caused all car makers to retool their PHEVs at the same time. I wanted to get a new BMW 330e in January, but I will only be getting it in October as it was simply not being produced for most of this year.
If sales are increasing why is the i3 being cancelled?