BMW i

The BMW i is a sub-brand of BMW founded in 2011 to design and manufacture plug-in electric vehicles. The company initially released two vehicles: the i3 all-electric car and the i8 plug-in hybrid. The all-electric iX3 SUV was released in late 2020, while iX SUV and the i4 all-electric liftback sedan followed later in 2021.

Concept versions of both the i3 and i8 were shown at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. Series production of the BMW i3 for retail customers began in September 2013, and the European market launch took place in November 2013, with the first retail deliveries in Germany. The BMW i8 was launched in Germany in June 2014. The United States, Norway, Germany, and the UK are the main markets for both models.

In February 2016, BMW announced the introduction of the "iPerformance" model designation, which is being given to all BMW plug-in hybrid vehicles from July 2016. The aim is to provide a visible indicator of the transfer of technology from BMW i to the BMW core brand. As of June 2021, seven BMW electrified models have been released using BMW i technology, the X1 xDrive25e, X3 xDrive30e, X5 xDrive45e, 225xe Active Tourer, 320e/330e iPerformance, 520e/530e/545e iPerformance, and 745e/745Le iPerformance. The Mini Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 plug-in hybrid also shares the i technology.

Combined global sales of BMW Group electrified vehicles achieved the 500,000th unit milestone in December 2019, including BMW i, iPerformance, xDrive, and MINI brand electrified cars. Global sales of all variants of the BMW i3 reached over 165,000 units delivered at the beginning of 2020. Production of the BMW i8 ended in June 2020, with worldwide sales of more than 20,000 units.