BMW is planning to axe the i4 next year, with its role effectively being taken over by the newly introduced i3.
The i4 has only been on sale since 2021 and was one of BMW’s first mainstream electric motors, alongside the iX.
But, with the arrival of the new i3, which is a similar size but more technologically advanced, the i4 is seen as less necessary in the German brand’s line-up.
According to sources quoted by Autocar, production of the i4 will end next year at BMW’s main Munich factory – which is about to start building the i3.
BMW product chief, Jochen Goller, said this was always part of the company’s plan, describing it as a normal part of the car industry for older models to fade out as new ones take over.
“When you look back on the last 20 years, you always had new models coming in and old models phasing out,” he said.
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“So I think this is part of the history of our industry.
“And what you will always see is the volumes of the existing cars, in this case the i4, phasing out, and then [the new car], the i3, clearly ramping up. But as with every model, that was already factored into our planning.”
What’s more, the current i4 will not get a direct, immediate replacement – but BMW is not abandoning the 4 Series name.
Indeed, reports claim the company is developing a new 4 Series that will sit alongside the 3 Series as a more style-led and sportier option.
Joachim Post, BMW’s development boss, has already said that the 4 Series remains important to the brand and will continue to have a place in BMW’s future Neue Klasse family of vehicles.
“It will play an important role also for the future,” he said, earlier in the year.
Going forward, the company wants each core model to be offered with a range of powertrains while keeping the design broadly consistent, rather than having electric and petrol cars look completely separate.
That means the 3 Series will exist in both electric and combustion-engined forms, with a new petrol-powered saloon due later this year to sit alongside the electric i3.
As a result, when the next-gen 4 Series arrives, it is expected to follow the same approach – perhaps suggesting that an electric 4 Series will return in the future.