BMW updated the i4 lineup less than a year ago. And now, according to industry sources, it’s preparing to kill it. To be fair, the move isn’t entirely irrational. Munich has just launched the all-new i3, a fundamentally different machine built on an 800-volt architecture, capable of 400 kW DC fast charging, and packing an EPA-estimated range of 708 kilometers in the i3 50 xDrive configuration, which also delivers 463 HP and 645 Nm of torque.
Still, let’s not pretend the i4 was some kind of failure BMW needed to quietly bury. The car (4 Series) debuted in 2021, hit the ground running, and became BMW’s best-selling M model from 2022 through 2024. And then the best-selling EV.
Americans alone bought 23,403 units in 2024. The top-spec i4 M60 pushes 601 HP, sprints to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, and offers up to 278 miles of range, dropping to around 232 if you insist on those 20-inch wheels that look great and cost you every time you plug in.
Sales did slip to 20,114 units in 2025, largely thanks to the federal tax credit getting phased out. So the market punished the car for a political decision, and BMW is now punishing the car for dropping sales. The circle of life, automotive edition.
Jochen Goller, BMW’s board member responsible for customer and brand, offered the kind of philosophical non-answer executives keep in a drawer for exactly these occasions: models come, models go, that’s the industry. Technically true. Also deeply unhelpful.
The silver lining is that the i4 may not stay dead for long. Rumors point to a next-generation 4 Series currently in development, expected to offer both combustion and fully electric variants. Which means BMW isn’t abandoning the segment. It’s just rebooting it, wiping out one of its own success stories in the process, and hoping nobody notices.
