It's official: BMW i8 hybrid sports cars gone by April 2020

The BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, in coupé and roadster form, is being sent to pasture as early as April, a BMW SA spokesperson has confirmed.

It is said that the pioneering range that kicked off the trend of electric sports cars in 2014 will cease to be sold, as its maker shifts gear to pay attention to electrifying cars such as the iX3 and iNext SUV, as well as entrenching its new all-electric i4 sedan.

Seemingly, it’s a complete departure from shapely BMW performance coupés. The hearsay also suggests the Vision M Next concept BMW, unveiled at last year’s Frankfurt Auto Show, forms the base of a replacement model expected to arrive in the next five years. 

Furthermore, BMW research & development bosses are said to have confirmed last year that decisions were being made about the future of the i8 and that it could be reborn as an electric rival to the second-generation Tesla Roadster and long-rumoured Audi R8 e-tron.