America Loves The i8 And BMW Responds With Increased Production

Jan. 18, 2015 10:49 AM ET by Jay Traugott / 37 Comments

Not even building 50 percent more i8s will be enough to satisfy demand.

It's fair to say by now that the BMW i8 is a massive success. It's so massive that the order books are filled for the foreseeable future. We even reported of an i8 just sold in the US for a bonkers $100,000 over asking price. And BMW is responding in kind regarding 2015 i8 production numbers. There will be a 50 percent increase in US i8 allocation this year and yet that still won't be enough to meet demand. As of right now, the waiting period for a new i8 is one year, and that's after BMW will decrease i3 production so that more i8s can be built.

Even i3s sales have exceeded expectations despite falling gas prices. But still, the i8 is where it's at right now, and BMW is doing everything it can to get its halo car into the hands of anxious customers. So how many i8s will make it stateside in 2015? A little more than 1,000 units. Since first going on sale last August, 555 i8s have been sold in the US.