BMW ends production of plastic
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BMW ends production of plastic

Jun 02, 2023

Germany-based BMW GmbH has disclosed it is ceasing production of its electrically or hybrid-powered i3 hatchback. The model had, for about eight years, been one of the only widely available passenger cars made entirely with carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) exterior or body components.

An article posted to the Australian website CarExpert.com says a BMW spokesperson has confirmed production of the model is being halted after it has sold about 250,000 units worldwide.

That sales figure puts the model far down the leaderboard globally, but the i3 can be said to have had a cult following, with its demise being widely reported. The website of the BBC TV show "Top Gear," in an early July blog post, calls it an "innovative little" car whose demise had been rumored. However, the preceding rumor "doesn't make BMW's announcement that production has ended any easier to take," writes Greg Potts of "Top Gear."

For auto recyclers and shredder operators, the phasing out of the model might be greeted with a sigh of relief. Whether because of recycling percentage mandates in the EU or market incentives globally, a plastic-bodied car is not necessarily a welcome sight at auto shredding facilities designed to make their profits on steel and aluminum recycling.

Beyond the end-of-life-vehicle recycling difficulties posed by the i3, an extended supply chain to bring CFRP to the vehicle's assembly site in Leipzig, Germany, might have been a bigger headache to BMW.

According to CarExpert.com, "In the process of production, the raw material required for CFRP was shipped from Japan to a dedicated plant in Moses Lake, Washington, [on the West Coast of the United States] for processing, and then shipped to Germany for fabrication and installation."

The winding down of i3 output does not necessarily mean the end of plastic's challenge to sheet metal in the automotive world. CarExpert quotes a BMW spokesperson as saying the model "goes down in the company's history as a pioneer of sustainable mobility." The same article also indicates BMW's engineers had learned "many new processes it could use for its future vehicles."

The future of CFRP in mass-market vehicles remains unclear. An 11-page paper presented at a 2020 Institute of Physics Publishing (IOP) conference refers only to BMW as a user of the material for components such as roof panels.