BMW ends Z4 production, and now has no roadster left
BMW has ended production of the Z4 at Magna Steyr’s plant in Austria, and there is no direct successor waiting in the wings. For now, that leaves BMW without a single roadster in its model range.
The Z4 exits, and a long chapter closes
The last BMW Z4 rolled off the line at Magna Steyr’s factory in Graz, bringing the G29 generation to an end. BMW built it from 2018 onwards, sharing its technical foundations with the Toyota Supra. The split in character was always neat enough: BMW kept the open top roadster, Toyota took the same architecture and turned it into a coupé.
The final Z4 generation offered four and six cylinder turbo engines, a six speed manual gearbox and an eight speed automatic. At the end of 2025, BMW also introduced the Z4 Final Edition as the model’s official farewell. Earlier information from BMW pointed to March 2026 as the end of production, but more recent reports suggest the final car did not leave the line until May.
BMW’s roadster era now goes on pause
BMW’s modern roadster story began with the Z1 in 1989. Then came the Z3, three generations of Z4, and the rare Z8, whose styling nodded knowingly towards the 1950s BMW 507. So the end of Z4 production is not just the disappearance of one model. It is, at least for now, the temporary end of BMW’s entire line of open top two seat sports cars.
BMW has announced no direct replacement for the Z4, which is hardly shocking. Low volume sports cars are getting harder to justify as carmakers pour money into electrification, software and the models buyers actually queue up to buy.
The decision makes perfect business sense
The Z4 was an emotional car, not a volume seller. Even if demand picked up towards the end, that did not really change its business case. BMW sold 9,744 Z4s in 2025, well below the model’s 2019 peak of 15,827 cars.
BMW recently also ended production of the 8 Series Coupé, Gran Coupé and Convertible, none of which has a direct successor on the table either. Taken together, the message is fairly clear. BMW’s model range is moving towards body styles that are more practical, more profitable and, from a boardroom point of view at least, easier to defend.
That may be rational enough. It is also slightly bleak. Brands like BMW used to keep a roadster around simply because a roadster was the sort of thing a company like BMW ought to build. Now even that idea seems to need a spreadsheet.
