BMW adjusts i3 pricing in wake of government grant change

BMW has dropped the price of its i3 and i3s electric models to ensure that buyers can still take advantage of the recently changed government plug-in car grant.

The government slashed the plug-in car grant from £3,000 to £2,500 on March 18 while simultaneous lowering the threshold for eligible vehicles from £50,000 to £35,000, meaning many new car buyers would miss out on the savings.

However in response, BMW has cut the cost of its entry-level i3 to £33,805, while the more powerful i3s now costs £34,805. It means that after the grant is applied, the cars will cost £31,305 and £32,305 respectively. The level of standard equipment on both cars has remained unchanged, too.

The i3 delivers a range of between 182 and 190 miles from a single charge, while the punchier i3s returns a slightly lower range of between 150 and 173 miles.

BMW has experienced substantial success with the i3, which has been on sale in the UK since 2013. Since that time, more than 22,000 examples have landed on UK roads and since its release date, more than 200,000 models have been manufactured and sold worldwide.

It was one of the firm’s very first electric only models. More recently, BMW pledged that it will have 13 fully-electric models on the road from 2023, with at least one electric model offered in 90 per cent of the firm’s current market segments.

The lowering of the i3’s price by BMW mirrors a move made by many other manufacturers, with companies such as Peugeot cutting the cost of its e-2008 and Kia slashing the price of its e-Niro.