- BMW has developed a separate model of the i3 for the Chinese language market.
- It has an extended wheelbase for further legroom within the again.
- The i3 L does not have the worldwide mannequin’s pop-out door handles.
BMW’s gross sales in China have been on a slippery slope for the previous few years, however the luxurious model goals to bounce again with a contemporary wave of Neue Klasse fashions. Forward of its public debut later this week on the 2026 Beijing Auto Present, the i3 Lengthy Wheelbase reveals what a lot of the world gained’t be capable of purchase.
Whereas it seems largely acquainted, a number of key particulars instantly stand out. Apart from the extra beneficiant rear doorways, the China-spec i3 doesn’t have the pop-out handles of its international counterpart. This wasn’t a design alternative on BMW’s half however slightly a last-minute change to adjust to a brand new regulation in China that successfully bans fully flush door handles.
Curiously, there’s an M badge etched into the shiny black plastic trim subsequent to the C-pillars. It’s an sudden contact provided that we’re coping with a plain-Jane model, the i3 50 xDrive. Neue Klasse styling is meant to simplify issues, but BMW seems to be taking a unique method in China. To make it stand out, the M lights up once you unlock the automobile.
Picture by: BMW
This i3 has a wheelbase of over three meters (118.1 inches), exceeding that of the 5 Sequence. Nevertheless, the latter additionally has a stretched version in China, a part of BMW’s portfolio of segment-blurring fashions. Even SUVs have acquired the long-wheelbase remedy in a market the place rear-seat legroom stays a key promoting level.
Though BMW quotes a formidable vary of greater than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), the CLTC cycle on which that determine relies is understood to be considerably extra forgiving than WLTP and EPA requirements. Even so, the i3 is claimed to supply segment-leading vary in China. Just like the worldwide mannequin, the electrical sedan helps 400-kW charging; at full energy, it wants simply 10 minutes so as to add sufficient vitality for a CLTC-rated 400 kilometers (249 miles).
BMW’s long-wheelbase fashions have usually been reserved for China, however that has began to alter in recent times. The brand new iX3 LWB has already been confirmed for a number of different areas, so we wouldn’t rule out seeing the sedan elsewhere. Even so, most markets will get the standard-wheelbase variations with out the choice of their bigger counterparts.
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Supply: BMW
Motor1’s Take: The stretched physique doesn’t negatively impression the i3’s profile, because the automobile seems simply as athletic because the standard-wheelbase i3. Many patrons would possible favor these semi-enclosed door handles and wouldn’t thoughts the additional wheelbase, both. Nonetheless, it would principally stay forbidden fruit, as with the long-wheelbase 5 Sequence/i5.
It stays to be seen whether or not BMW’s inflow of China-centric fashions will flip issues round. If priced accurately in a fiercely aggressive market, they might at the least assist cease the gross sales decline. Inside, the screen-heavy Neue Klasse setup feels tailor-made to Chinese language tastes.
Regardless of a number of difficult years, China stays the corporate’s largest single market, accounting for a 25.4% share of complete gross sales in 2025, together with Mini. The BMW Group offered round 626,000 autos in China final 12 months, a far cry from 2021, when BMW and Mini delivered roughly 847,900 models. With the iX3 and i3 ready within the wings, Munich is hoping to shut that hole.
