BMW is planning an all-electric i4 Convertible for 2028, according to a new report from BMWBLOG citing sources close to the automaker. It would make sense for BMW to bring the also rumored i4 Coupe to fruition as well.

Doing so would improve economies of scale given how much of the costs would be split between the two models. These lifestyle models would be cut from the same cloth as the recently launched ‘Neue Klasse’ i3, so many of their secrets are already out in the open.

Electric convertibles

The segment of electric convertibles is close to empty. In the US, the only new EV convertible on sale is the Maserati GranCabrio Folgore, which costs $206,095. Maserati has been telling dealers in the U.S. to knock as much as $85,000 off its electric Folgore models. Not exactly a thriving business.

Europe gets a little more. Fiat sells a 500e cabrio,  MG sells the Cyberster roadster in Europe and other continents but not in the U.S., and BMW’s own Mini brand built 999 units of an electric Cooper SE Convertible in 2023 as a Europe-only limited run.

Everything else, apart from some attempts by very small and specialized companies, got delayed or shelved. Polestar pushed the 6 roadster back behind the Polestar 7 with no firm date. Tesla has been promising a new Roadster since 2017 and just pushed the demo again to August. Audi scrapped its electric sports car plans outright, as did the open versions. Nobody knows what Mercedes is going to do in the electric field here.

Will the 4 Series survive?

At the presentation of the i3 sedan, BMW confirmed that with the venue of the new ‘Neue Klasse’ i3 in sedan and touring versions, there was no need anymore to sell the i4 Gran Coupe. With the possible arrival of a Coupe and a Convertible, internally codenamed NA2 and NA3, the 4 Series will eventually survive.

Unlike the current ICE versions of the 4 Series Gran Coupe, which will soon disappear from the market, the Coupe and, for sure, the Convertible (codenamed G23) will continue to be built until mid-2029, overlapping with the possible venue of the electric i4 versions.

An i4 ‘Neue Klasse’

Convertibles are more difficult cars to build, even more so as EVs. Cutting the roof off costs structural rigidity; you buy that back with weight, and weight is the enemy of range in a car that’s already carrying a battery in the floor. That’s how the Mini Cooper SE Convertible ended up with a ± 200 km range.

Which is why the timing matters. The i3 sedan promises a WLTP range up to 900 km thanks to an 800-volt architecture, and 400 kW DC-charging. Give back 15% of that to weight and worse aerodynamics with the roof down, and a convertible version is still comfortably around 700 km.

Natural pairing

This is the sort of EV we keep waiting for someone to build, and maybe BMW is the right company to do it. Convertibles and EVs should be a natural pairing. No engine noise, no exhaust heat. Just wind and whatever’s on the stereo. An open-top EV is a better sensory experience than an open-top gas car, and until now almost nobody has bothered to sell one you can actually buy.

Like the current 4 Series models, the i4 Coupe and Convertible will be 2-door, 4-passenger cars, the latter with a foldable fabric roof; a steel one adds too much weight and complexity and steals too much luggage space.

Since it’s being developed from day one as a purely electric car, it won’t inherit the packaging constraints associated with combustion-engine vehicles. In theory, that should allow for a longer wheelbase by pushing the wheels farther outward and reducing the overhangs. A greater distance between the axles typically translates into a roomier cabin, which is exactly what a ‘2+2 convertible’ needs. Rear passengers in the current coupe and convertible will surely confirm this.

Coupes and convertibles have become low-volume segments in long-term decline, and no automaker can still spend platform money on one. But BMW’s approach to EVs gets around that. It’s seriously committed to its ‘Neue Klasse’ technology across its entire lineup, so the i4 derivatives don’t have to justify a platform. They only have to justify the body variants. And BMW is one of the few brands that still has the clientele to go for a coupe, convertible or not. With the additional attraction of it being electric and noiseless.