Automakers tend to stop communicating toward the end of the year. Well, not BMW. Shortly after announcing plans to move 3 Series production to Dingolfing, the company is now sharing an update on its electric sibling, the i3. From January, the pre-production phase of the electric sedan will be relocated from the Research and Innovation Center (FIZ) to the nearby Munich plant.
The historic site now has all the hardware to assemble prototypes of the “NA0”. However, series production will not begin until next summer. BMW isn’t giving a firm timeline, saying only that it will start building cars for customers in the second half of 2026. From what we’ve heard, the i3 sedan will roll off the assembly line in July. If our sources are correct, which is usually the case, European deliveries should begin sometime next fall.
To support the introduction of the i3, BMW had to convert about a third of the Munich factory in just 18 months. This meant that some of the old halls had to be demolished to make room for new facilities. There is a body shop, a logistics center and the actual assembly line. As if that wasn’t complicated enough, series production of existing models continued uninterrupted. BMW builds up to 1,000 units of the current 3 and 4 series every day.
The more than century-old factory in Munich is now preparing to stop producing cars with combustion engines. BMW will only build electric vehicles there from the end of 2027 his decision to relocate 3 Series production to Dingolfing. This means that the “G50” will be the first 3 Series that BMW does not assemble in Munich.
BMW isn’t saying what other electric cars will be added to the i3 sedan. However, one of them could be a wagon. We haven’t seen any prototypes, but the i3 Touring (“NA1”) is rumored to enter production in July 2027. It would make sense to build the electric long-roof model alongside its sedan counterpart.
In an unexpected twist of fate, the i3 Touring could be the only wagon in the 3 Series. Company insiders claim that there will no longer be a 3 Series Touring with a combustion engine. However, nothing is official at this point, so take the gossip with the proverbial pinch of salt. We honestly can’t imagine BMW discontinuing the more practical 3 Series, and hopefully the ‘G51’ will arrive later this decade.
Meanwhile, we’ve heard that the combustion engine sedan will enter production in November 2026, a few months after the i3. Both sedans get the M treatment as BMW wants to cater to both camps. However, we have previously reported on the likelihood that the inline-six petrol model could forego both manual transmission and rear-wheel drive. Instead, the M3 “G84” will only come with an automatic transmission and xDrive. The electric M3 “ZA0” could launch with rear-wheel drive and add a front engine for an all-paw setup later in its lifecycle.
