BMW Opens i3 Order Books Months Earlier Than Originally Planned Due to High Demand

BMW was planning to open order books for the all-new i3 in the fall, but high demand made the automaker change plans. Customers can start speccing the electric sedan as early as June 18, which is way ahead of schedule.

BMW isn't doing any free giveaways. It is not running a Black Friday on a Wednesday, either. Yet, customers have been desperately knocking at doors that will no longer remain closed. The German automaker is opening them months before the original plan. The first to hit the market will be, expectedly, the BMW i3 First Edition, which will go on sale on June 18 in Europe.

This version will most likely be available for the first year of the production run, before BMW will retire it to make room for new variants. BMW has yet to reveal details about the First Edition, but it is expected to have some interesting features for convenient pricing.

There is no official pricing released for the United States yet, but in its home market, Germany it starts at 75,340 euros, which translates to $86,374. That's a lot to pay for a zero-tailpipe-emission 3 Series. U.S.-market models will be imported, with deliveries officially kicking off in 2027.

The standard equipment list includes the M Sport package, the BMW Iconic Glow exterior package, and the BMW 3D Head-Up Display, as well as the Harman Kardon sound system. Heated front seats (no subscription this time!), a heated steering wheel, and three-zone automatic climate control are also on board. 

One thing is for sure: it will be based on the 50 xDrive, the configuration available at launch. It sits on an 800-volt architecture and is powered by a dual-motor powertrain, producing 463 horsepower and 476 pound-feet of torque.

A 107.8-kWh battery pack stores enough energy for a drive of up to 440 miles, according to the EPA rating. The battery can be recharged from 10 to 80% in up to 22 minutes. BMW will also roll out a more affordable single-motor, rear-wheel-drive i3 40 with a smaller battery pack, set to arrive at a later date. Regardless of the battery capacity, the model features the vehicle-to-load (V2L) function, with a maximum output of 3.7 kW. In the United States, the i3 will feautre the NACS port along with a CCS adapter.

However, the decision will by no means affect the production schedule. BMW will send the i3 Sedan into production in August at its plant in Munich, Germany, as originally planned. The production center will switch to EV production sometime in 2027. The firm will start manufacturing the wagon sometime in 2027. BMW will also roll out the long-wheelbase variant, but that one is specially produced in China for China.

BMW is also working on the i3 Touring, which will start rolling off the production line in 2027, but the automaker has yet to officially unveil it. The first customers won’t get their electric BMWs before September at the earliest. 

In the meantime, haters can hate EVs all they want. After all, anti-advertising is simply a highly effective, modern marketing tactic. So while you wouldn’t be caught dead in an electric car, BMW customers are queuing for the all-new i3, forcing the automaker to open order books way earlier than scheduled, as reported by German publication Automobilwoche.

Official U.S. pricing has not yet been announced. It is, however, expected to slot under the iX crossover, which starts at $61,500. Most likely, it will slot below the $60,000 mark.