The Old BMW i3 Refuses To Die: New Sales Pop Up In 2026

If you know where to look, interesting details often hide in otherwise unexciting corporate documents. That’s the case with BMW’s quarterly statement, where the i3 makes a surprising appearance. No, not the new electric 3 Series sedan from the Neue Klasse lineup, but the quirky hatchback launched some 13 years ago.

BMW stopped building its inaugural EV in June 2022, when the last of roughly 250,000 cars rolled off the Leipzig assembly line. Even though nearly four years have passed since the “I01” was retired, it continues to show up in sales charts long after its demise. Case in point: Two cars were sold during the first quarter of this year. Coincidentally, another two changed hands in Q1 2025.

Previously, sales of leftover i3s were bundled with those of another discontinued “i” model, the i8. However, it appears BMW dealers have finally run out of plug-in hybrid coupes and roadsters. The i3 now appears solo in the sales chart, though that doesn’t make things any less weird.

The BMW i3 Name Was Never Retired

As you might expect, these aren’t brand-new cars but vehicles being titled for the first time. The i3 hatchback shouldn’t be confused with the long-wheelbase i3 sedan BMW launched in China in 2022. Why? Sales of that model are grouped with the 3 Series. The “i3” name was technically never retired, since the sedan arrived the same year the hatchback was phased out.

For 2026 and beyond, BMW offers two i3 variants. Both are electric versions of the eighth-generation 3 Series sedan, with one featuring a longer wheelbase. The stretched i3 for China and other markets gets a more upscale interior, with better materials and additional equipment.

That’s not all. A third i3 variant is on the way, this time in the form of a more practical Touring. BMW has already confirmed plans to build the i3 wagon in Munich alongside the standard-wheelbase sedan. Speaking of production sites, the long-wheelbase i3 sedan will be manufactured in China, where BMW also plans to build a stretched iX3.

The BMW i1 Will Be A True Entry-Level EV

While the new i3 isn’t a direct successor to the city car retired four years ago, an indirect replacement is in the works. Nothing is official yet, but reports of an i1 have surfaced. Essentially an electric 1 Series hatchback, the rumored i1 is expected to arrive in late 2028 under the “NB0” codename. Unlike today’s 1 Series, it will be rear-wheel drive, as the Neue Klasse platform wasn’t designed for front-wheel-drive vehicles.

The i1 will be joined shortly after by an i2, serving as an electric counterpart to the 2 Series Gran Coupe. Along with the upcoming second-generation iX1, the BMW Group believes EVs could reach a 50% share of total sales by 2030. It won’t be easy, though. Fully electric cars from BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce accounted for just 15.5% of the Group’s deliveries between January and March 2026, down from 18.7% in the same period last year.