The last BMW Z4 rolled off Magna Steyr’s assembly line in Graz, Austria this week, and the company isn’t even pretending a successor is coming. A BMW spokesperson confirmed the roadster’s death to BMWBLOG, closing a chapter that stretches back to the Z1’s debut in 1989.
The timing is almost poetic. Sales actually ticked up in the Z4’s final months — deliveries rose 4.9 percent in Q1 2026 to 2,555 units, a modest farewell bump likely driven by collectors and sentimentalists grabbing the last ones off dealer lots. The car’s peak was 2019, its first full year, when BMW moved 15,827 units. By 2025, that number had cratered to 9,744.
Those are damning figures for a car that occupies premium factory space and engineering bandwidth.
BMW’s roadster lineage has always been stop-and-start. The Z1 died in 1991; the Z3 didn’t show up until 1995. The gorgeous Z8 had a brief, brilliant run from 1999 to 2003. The E85/E86 Z4 carried the torch until 2008, the E89 from 2009 to 2016, and the G29 from 2018 until now.
Gaps are built into the DNA. But this time, BMW’s own sources say a new Z car isn’t on the horizon. No concept teases, no platform whispers, no “stay tuned.”
That leaves BMW with exactly one convertible in its entire global lineup: the 4 Series. The G23 should soldier on until roughly 2029, but after that, the path forward is genuinely unclear. BMW hasn’t committed to a next-generation open-top car for the 2030s, and the EU’s mandate to slash fleet CO2 emissions by 90 percent by 2035 makes a new gas-powered roadster almost unthinkable in Europe.
The contrast with Toyota is sharp. The Supra, the Z4’s platform-sharing coupe sibling co-developed under the same partnership, is also heading for retirement. But Toyota has already publicly committed to reviving the Supra name. BMW has made no such promise about the Z badge.
There’s a scenario where an electric convertible eventually materializes. Reports suggest BMW has greenlit an i4 two-door coupe for production, and a droptop variant could theoretically follow. But the business case for a low-volume electric roadster — with its heavy battery pack, structural rigidity challenges, and niche buyer pool — is not exactly a slam dunk.
BMW has been quietly pruning its lineup for a while now. The X4 was discontinued just months ago. The 8 Series Convertible is already gone. Each cut makes strategic sense on a spreadsheet and chips away at something harder to quantify.
A brand built on driving pleasure doesn’t stay credible forever by selling only SUVs and sedans.
Leftover Z4 inventory will trickle through dealerships for a few more months, and then it’s over. No more straight-six roadster with a folding soft top and rear-wheel drive from Munich. The Z4 Final Edition was the warning shot. This is the funeral.
Whether BMW circles back to a Z car someday depends on market forces no one can predict with certainty. But right now, in May 2026, the company that once built the Z8 — arguably the most beautiful roadster of the 2000s — has zero plans to build another one. Let that sit for a moment.
Share this Story