The BMW 3 Series Compact was a compact executive car, basically a truncated liftback version of the BMW 3 Series, produced by the German automaker BMW between 1993 and 2004. Initially based on the BMW E36 platform, it switched to the BMW E46 platform in 2001. Production of the 3 Series Compact ceased in 2004 when it was succeeded by the 1 Series.The car was available in 316i, 316g (compressed natural gas), 318ti, 318tds (diesel) and later as a 323ti.