Serial Production of The i3 Begins Tomorrow

According to Automobilwoche a German car website, serial production of the BMW i3 will begin tomorrow, September 18th at BMW's Leipzig manufacturing plant. You can read (if you read German) or translate the article here.

The i3 is scheduled to go on sale in select European countries in November with the US launch set for Spring 2014. However, it's not clear if the range extender will be available as an option from the start. I have had people in Germany and the UK tell me when they placed their order the BMW i representative told them the range extender option will not be available until after the new year meaning they will have to wait a few more months if they want the REx. I have not heard any official confirmation of this, but I have no reason to doubt those that told me this. I have been told that the range extender will be available right from the start in the US though, and since we have to wait 4 or 5 months longer than Europe for the launch, that seems legitimate. 

The floor of the i3 assembly plant.

Carbon fiber i3 passenger cells are carried down the production line in Leipzig