BMW USA just published its sales results for the third quarter. Demand jumped 24% to 96,886 units, but two entries in the tally caught us off guard. Someone bought a previously unsold i3, while another person drove home in a “new” 6 Series Gran Turismo. It’s been quite a while since either of these models was sold in the United States.
The Leipzig plant built the very last i3 hatchback more than three years ago. Production ended in June 2022 after a nine-year run that saw 250,000 units made. While it’s understandable that leftover inventory wouldn’t vanish overnight, it’s unusual to see one still sitting on a dealer lot during the July-August period.
Technically, BMW never retired the i3 badge. While the quirky city car is history, the alphanumeric code now belongs to a completely different vehicle: an electric 3 Series based on the long-wheelbase sedan built and sold in China. The name will go global again next year with the Neue Klasse-based i3.
As for the 6 Series GT, it predates the i3’s demise. BMW USA stopped selling the five-door gran tourer for the 2020 model year. The “G32” received a facelift that year, but the update never made it to North America. Production continued in Dingolfing until 2023, with the Chennai plant in India building the model into the first half of 2024.
It would be fascinating to know how much buyers paid for these cars that sat on dealer lots for so long. Before discontinuation, the i3 started at $45,445, while the 6 Series GT retailed from $71,295 before options. Since neither was the kind of car that appreciates after production ends, those customers may have scored solid deals. After all, dealers are always motivated to move aging inventory.
BMW plans to reenter the i3’s segment later this decade with the upcoming i1 EV. A successor to the 6 Series GT, however, seems unlikely. Like the smaller 3 Series GT, it never really found its audience, leaving both models as ultimately failed experiments.
Source: BMW
