Oh no, not another big success for BMW – the latest reports suggest that so many people are asking about the electric 3-Series that the German carmaker is opening the order books for its i3 earlier than planned. 

BMW had to increase production on the iX3 SUV ahead of its March 2026 delivery date when that went on sale at the end of 2025 because of the unexpected demand. It looks like it has happened again with the next new car from the firm’s Neue Klasse makeover. 

It’s understood that production is still planned to start in August as before, but rather than putting the car on sale later in the autumn, BMW is going to take orders for a ‘first edition’ special edition of the car that will be available solely in 50 xDrive guise. 

It’s been a similar story for the iX3 SUV – Electrifying’s Car of the Year for 2026 – which also had a 50 xDrive powertrain on sale for the first little while after it went on sale. BMW has just launched a new iX3 40 version of the car in the last few months that comes with rear-wheel drive and a smaller battery for a cheaper entry point into the range. 

The news comes in the same week that BMW announced that it was revising its profit expectations for 2026 sharply downward off the back of a slump in Chinese new car sales – it could be that it wants to boost its cash stocks by taking money off people for the i3 early and keep the finance department happy.

We’ve already been to have a look at the new car ahead of the first drives later this year – the initial signs are promising for a car that will continue the BMW renaissance and shoot to the top of the longest range charts with its 559 miles of WLTP range... at least until the much pricier new Mercedes EQS takes its crown).