The New BMW i3 EV Is Coming To The U.S. Sooner Than Expected

The German automaker is opening the order books for the sleek electric sedan ahead of schedule.

Photo by: BMW

By: Iulian Dnistran

Sep 23, at 8:01am ET

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BMW will start taking U.S. reservations for the new i3 EV earlier than expected.
Pre-orders for the 440-mile sedan were supposed to open next month.
The first cars are expected to be shipped stateside in the first quarter of 2027.

BMW is making a habit of expediting everything related to the launch of its Neue Klasse cars. First came the iX3 crossover, which has seen massive success in Europe so far, prompting the Bavarian automaker to ramp up production at its new factory in Hungary faster than ever.

Now, the same strategy is making its presence felt with the new i3 sedan, the second Neue Klasse-based EV to come out of Munich. The sleek electric 3 Series will go up for pre-order in the United States on September 29, according to emails sent by BMW of North America to people who registered for updates on the company’s American website.

That’s at least one week ahead of the original schedule, according to BMW Blog, which quoted company sources that said the order books for the four-door EV were supposed to open in the first half of October.

All of this is probably due to higher-than-expected demand for the sleek sedan. Earlier this year, BMW made a similar move in Europe, where it started taking orders way ahead of schedule—all because customers kept asking to buy the new i3.

To be clear, here in the U.S., BMW has only moved up the date when it will start taking reservations. The i3’s starting price and definitive delivery schedule are still unknown, but it’s still a good starting point for a car that seems to have all it takes to succeed.

Like in the iX3’s case, just one version of the i3 will be available at first. The 2027 BMW i3 50 xDrive has a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup that makes a combined 463 horsepower, powered by a 108.7-kilowatt-hour battery that enables an EPA-estimated range of up to 440 miles. It can accept up to 400 kilowatts from a DC fast charger through a native NACS port that can also export power from the high-voltage battery, thanks to the built-in bidirectional charging functionality.

Gallery: The New BMW i3

Source: BMW

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A lower-powered and more affordable option is also in the cards, as well as a hotter i3 M60 xDrive. Even though BMW hasn’t said a word about pricing, logic dictates that the i3 will be slightly cheaper than its crossover sibling. With the iX3 50 xDrive starting at $61,500 before destination, it’s not far-fetched to think that the i3 would start at less than $60,000 when it hits U.S. dealers.

Deliveries are expected to start in the first quarter of next year, but we’re probably going to find out more next week, when BMW officially opens the i3 order books.