Like that old Toy Story 2 meme, BMW is dropping its current crop of electrified cars, so it can play with its Neue Klasse toys. Along with news that the BMW iX has officially been discontinued in the United States market, there’s also a report that says the i4 will meet its end toward the end of the year. However, unlike the iX, which will remain on sale in other markets, production of the BMW i4 is reportedly ending either in late 2026 or early 2027.
According to BMWBlog, i4 production is going to end so BMW can make way for the new i3, which is part of the Neue Klasse family. BMW will start building the i3 in Munich in August, 2026 and since both the i3 and i4 will be similarly sized electric sedans, it doesn’t make much sense to have both on sale at the same time. Nothing has been officially confirmed, but it does make sense that BMW doesn’t want to build and sell both cars simultaneously.
The BMW i4 was an intereting car, as it was just a normal 4 Series Gran Coupe with some batteries and motors stuffed inside. It wasn’t a clean sheet design, like the iX, nor was it something truly funky, like the original i3. It felt a bit like a half-measure, as BMW tested the waters about what customers wanted. Still, it was a good car with decent range, impressive performance in M50-guise, and 3 Series-ish dynamics.
Once the new BMW i3 is here, though, with its fresh design, based on a new chassis, and with cutting edge battery and motor technology, there just isn’t a place for the i4 anymore. You can debate which car’s take on giant kidney grilles is best (big tall ones or super wide ones), but there’s no denying just how much more advanced the Neue Klasse i3 is. So while the announcement of the iX’s demise in the U.S. might have felt sudden, the i4’s end is expected.
