BMW is developing a completely new vehicle architecture designed primarily for battery-electric vehicles. It’s called Neue Klasse. So far, we know it will underpin the fully electric 3 Series and X3, but a new report says it can also be used in even smaller EVs.
Autocar says BMW is already hard at work developing two separate compact models that will come to be known as the i1 and i2. They will both serve as spiritual successors to the i3, BMW's original bespoke EV. Although it may have looked a bit ungainly, it was at one point the world’s second-best-selling EV after the Nissan Leaf.
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BMW has made a small bespoke EV before
The BMW i3 was a special EV because not only was it built on a bespoke EV platform, but it was developed specially for it and not used for another model. It was quite popular when in production and today makes for a great used compact EV buy.
By the time BMW pulled the plug on the i3 in July 2022, it had been in production for almost 9 years, and over 250,000 vehicles had been delivered worldwide. Today, BMW sells the iX1 and iX2 as its smallest electric offerings. Still, both are repurposed combustion vehicles, so they are nowhere near as cool as the i3 with its boxy shape and lightweight carbon-reinforced plastic polymer structure.
The new i1, believed to debut in 2027, will be an electric hatchback, the electric equivalent of today’s 1 Series. The taller i2 crossover will follow one year later, and the source report says it will be available in two flavors: a boxier, more practical body style and a coupe-like model similar to today’s iX2.
Gallery: BMW Vision Neue Klasse X Concept
Just like Kia, which has two versions of its bespoke EV platform, BMW has also developed two flavors of the Neue Klasse platform: the rear-wheel-drive NAx will be used for everything from 3 Series models upward, while NBx will underpin smaller front-wheel-drive models. Both versions of the platform will have the option of dual-motor all-wheel drive in more potent model variants.
The first Neue Klasse-based BMW will debut next year. It will be the production version of the Vision Neue Klasse X concept (pictured), a direct replacement for today’s iX3. Next will follow a 3 Series-sized sedan previewed by the Vision Neue Klasse concept, which should be unveiled soon after and probably enter production in early 2026.
BMW sees the introduction of Neue Klasse as reinventing itself. All Neue Klasse vehicles will feature the same design language we’ve already seen on the two concepts, and they will have minimalist interiors made from more sustainable materials than what the manufacturer uses today. They will have even fewer physical controls than today’s minimalist models and focus more functions on the large central touchscreen running a next-gen version of iDrive.
These new models will roll off the production line at BMW’s plant in Debrecen, Hungary. They will feature batteries with 20% better energy density (thanks to new sixth-generation round battery cells), charge 30% quicker and have 30% more range than the EVs it sells today. Neue Klasse will support 800-volt EVs, but smaller offerings like the i1 and i2 may be downgraded to 400 volts, similarly to what Kia is doing with all sub-EV6 models.
