BMW Opens i3 Orders Months Early
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- BMW opened orders for the i3 50 xDrive First Edition on June 18, 2026 in Germany at €75,340 ($86,400) and in the UK at £57,905 ($76,500), with the standard model priced from €65,900 / £53,005 — months ahead of the originally planned fall launch.
- The i3 50 xDrive First Edition uses a 108.7 kWh battery delivering up to 566 miles (912 km) of WLTP range, an 800V architecture, and 400 kW DC fast-charging that recovers roughly 250 miles (440 km) in about 10 minutes.
- BMW sales boss Jochen Goller said the early order opening reflects a "high level of interest," while production remains on track to start in August at BMW's Munich plant, with deliveries still scheduled for this fall.
- The i3 is BMW's second Neue Klasse model after the iX3 SUV, which logged over 50,000 orders in March and sold more than 10,000 units through April to become the top-selling EV in its segment.
- US i3 pricing has not been announced, but BMW's iX3 50 xDrive starts at $61,500, suggesting an estimated $50,000–$55,000 entry point for the new sedan.
- The new i3 is generating strong early buzz in China — where BMW has been losing ground to domestic brands — and a long-wheelbase i3 variant will also launch there.
Why it matters: The i3 follows the iX3, which booked 50,000+ orders in its first month and sold 10,000+ units through April. With strong early interest already reported in China — where BMW has lost ground to domestic brands — the €65,900 starting price and 566-mile WLTP range give BMW concrete specs to compete in the premium EV space without waiting for the planned autumn rollout.
