BMW originally intended to end production of the i8 in April 2020 but the coronavirus pandemic pushed back the car’s demise to June. Two years have passed since the final car – an i8 Roadster in Portimao Blue – rolled off the assembly line, and yet the PHEV still appears in BMW USA’s sales chart for the first half of 2022.
A total of five vehicles were sold between January and June, representing a decline of 50% compared to the same period of last year. In Q2 2022, BMW delivered a brand-new i8, and we’re wondering whether the customer received a discount for buying a car that had been sitting in a showroom for such a long time.
It’s unclear which of the five cars sold far this year were coupes and which were roadsters, but we’ll remind you the i8 wasn’t exactly cheap. Near the end of its life cycle in the US, the model with the fixed roof started at just under $150,000 while the version with the folding top was approximately $165,000 before options.
Speaking of the original “i” models, BMW waved goodbye to the i3 this week after producing 250,000 cars in nine years. The quirky hatchback appears in the H1 2022 sales chart for North America as well, with nine cars delivered through June. All of them were sold in the first quarter of the year. Last year, BMW USA sold 851 units.
The compact car was pulled out of the US market in February 2022 when BMW stopped taking orders. Chances are there are still quite a few sitting at dealer lots, so don’t be too surprised if a few more will be sold in the latter half of the year.
As a refresher, the i3 name lives on in China. However, it’s for a completely different car since the i3 eDrive35L is a CLAR-based 3 Series Sedan EV based on the locally produced long-wheelbase version. BMW is working on a globally available i3 scheduled to come in 2025 on the Neue Klasse platform, complete with an i3 Touring if a recent report is to be believed.
Source: BMW USA
