i3
Bmw · on record 2013 to 2025
The BMW I3 was BMW's compact battery electric city car, built around a carbon fibre passenger cell, rear drive and an unusually light approach to electric vehicle construction. The I3 was aimed at buyers prioritising compact dimensions, manageable costs and straightforward everyday use. The I3 is still relatively young in census terms, so its long term survival will depend more on battery support, repair economics and continuing usefulness than on established classic car preservation.
GROWING
Red List classification, from population, five year trajectory and survival against peak. Reviewed each census.
25,256
licensed vehicles
2025 census
2025 census
98.6% of the peak fleet remains licensed
400
declared SORN
total surviving
peak 25,615 in 2023 · +354 vehicles a year, five year trend
Population history
Licensed and SORN vehicles at each census. The filters below apply to the family population, MOT and registration figures. They do not alter the generation history above.
Licensed
SORN
Latest census observation
Inside the surviving fleet
AutoCensus parses every DVLA variant description, so the fleet can be read by fuel and specification rather than as one number.
First registrations by year
When surviving examples first joined the British fleet.
New registrations
Vehicles first registered each year. A fleet still being sold shows here; a finished one shows only imports.
MOT reliability
DVSA test results for this family, 2015 to 2025.
Pass rate by year
| Failure reason | Failures | Share of all tests |
|---|---|---|
| Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | 2,939 | 2.1% |
| A tyre seriously damaged | 2,676 | 1.9% |
| Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view | 2,016 | 1.5% |
| Wiper blade defective | 1,087 | 0.8% |
| A tyre cords visible or damaged | 1,023 | 0.7% |
| Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen | 765 | 0.6% |
| Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen | 647 | 0.5% |
| A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative | 568 | 0.4% |
Counted across every recorded test, 2015 to 2025. Advisories are excluded.
Where the i3 remains
Based on MOT test locations, 2025. Test location is a proxy: a vehicle is counted where it was last tested, not where it is kept.
| Postcode area | Vehicles tested | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| NW | 1,091 | 91% |
| GU | 842 | 89% |
| KT | 619 | 94% |
| BS | 565 | 90% |
| RG | 565 | 89% |
| HP | 523 | 90% |
| B | 473 | 91% |
| OX | 465 | 88% |
| BN | 458 | 90% |
| TN | 441 | 90% |
| SW | 437 | 91% |
| SE | 422 | 94% |
| GL | 421 | 90% |
| CV | 415 | 92% |
| RH | 415 | 92% |
| WD | 407 | 87% |
| TW | 391 | 91% |
| PE | 388 | 91% |
| S | 363 | 92% |
| N | 356 | 88% |
| SL | 341 | 93% |
| W | 338 | 89% |
| SO | 336 | 90% |
| NN | 324 | 88% |
| NG | 324 | 87% |
| EH | 320 | 89% |
| LE | 319 | 92% |
| NE | 315 | 93% |
| SN | 311 | 93% |
| BH | 310 | 89% |
| MK | 309 | 91% |
| CM | 307 | 88% |
| G | 289 | 88% |
| HA | 285 | 90% |
| DE | 276 | 92% |
| EN | 268 | 95% |
| SG | 266 | 91% |
| PO | 264 | 88% |
| CR | 262 | 91% |
| SK | 261 | 88% |
| CB | 260 | 91% |
| EX | 258 | 85% |
| BA | 250 | 86% |
| NR | 235 | 88% |
| CF | 232 | 90% |
| ME | 228 | 94% |
| IP | 224 | 90% |
| IG | 220 | 88% |
| M | 217 | 88% |
| BR | 206 | 96% |
| UB | 205 | 90% |
| CT | 202 | 92% |
| AB | 202 | 84% |
| PR | 198 | 89% |
| PL | 188 | 89% |
| RM | 187 | 94% |
| LS | 186 | 90% |
| WA | 178 | 93% |
| DN | 174 | 90% |
| TR | 172 | 84% |
| SS | 166 | 91% |
| CH | 164 | 88% |
| YO | 155 | 94% |
| BB | 146 | 90% |
| DA | 145 | 90% |
| ST | 145 | 88% |
| AL | 144 | 88% |
| E | 141 | 93% |
| TA | 141 | 91% |
| SA | 141 | 91% |
| HR | 140 | 85% |
| LU | 138 | 88% |
| SP | 137 | 92% |
| TQ | 137 | 91% |
| CW | 136 | 94% |
| L | 134 | 92% |
| NP | 125 | 90% |
| SY | 123 | 89% |
| CO | 122 | 92% |
| WR | 121 | 93% |
| TS | 115 | 86% |
| LN | 113 | 85% |
| WV | 109 | 93% |
| LL | 98 | 92% |
| WF | 98 | 94% |
| HG | 97 | 91% |
| LA | 96 | 92% |
| FY | 93 | 87% |
| CA | 90 | 86% |
| HU | 86 | 91% |
| DT | 84 | 93% |
| HD | 83 | 93% |
| BL | 83 | 96% |
| KY | 82 | 90% |
| KA | 81 | 90% |
| ML | 75 | 88% |
| DH | 74 | 92% |
| WS | 74 | 89% |
| BD | 73 | 90% |
| FK | 67 | 93% |
| DY | 67 | 93% |
| OL | 67 | 96% |
| IV | 66 | 83% |
| DL | 61 | 97% |
| PA | 59 | 93% |
| DD | 59 | 93% |
| PH | 54 | 91% |
| TF | 48 | 94% |
| SM | 48 | 96% |
| WN | 40 | 85% |
| DG | 37 | 100% |
| SR | 29 | 86% |
| HX | 21 | 86% |
| XX | 18 | 94% |
| LD | 17 | 82% |
| TD | 10 | 90% |
| KW | 6 | 100% |
| HS | 5 | 100% |
How this record was calculated
LATEST CENSUS2025
POPULATION SOURCEDVLA VEH0220 annual
HISTORY SOURCEDVLA VEH0120 GB · to 2013
MOT SOURCEDVSA results · to 2025
FAMILY DEFINITIONBMW I3
PROCESSED20 Sep 2026
Full methodology
Population history combines DVLA VEH0120 Q4 census observations through 2013 with the annual VEH0220 census from 2014 onward. Figures before 2014 cover Great Britain only. Historical VEH0120 is used only when its overlapping UK observations reconcile to the current canonical family definition. Vehicles are grouped into this family using the DVLA GenModel together with durable routing rules for known inconsistencies.
Variant figures are parsed from raw DVLA model descriptions and the original string is always retained. Configuration is only assigned where the model description explicitly identifies it; a blank configuration is not treated as a two door Wrangler. Blank transmission fields are shown as manual because DVLA records the field for automatic vehicles.
MOT figures count tests, not vehicles, and geographic figures count each vehicle at its most recent test location. The decline projection is a straight line fitted to the latest five years and is illustrative only.