BMW plans to launch several electric vehicles in the coming years based on a next-generation platform that promises more power and efficiency than the automaker’s current technology. The new vehicles are known as the Neue Klasse family, and the first to arrive will be a sedan and an SUV in the same segments as the 3 Series and X3.
BMW has already presented the sedan with the Vision Neue Klasse Concept revealed at the 2023 Munich Motor Show, and on March 21st we will have a preview of the SUV with the reveal of the Vision Neue Klasse X concept. The reveal will coincide with BMW’s annual general meeting that will take place at the automaker’s headquarters in Munich.
A teaser photo posted on social media on Monday gives an idea of the concept’s silhouette. The design of the window frames, especially the A-pillar, appears to have the same rigid shape found on the previous Vision Neue Klasse concept, and the finer details such as the lights and grille should also be similar to those found on the sedan. concept.
Prototypes for the production model have has already been seen. The production model will be similar in size to the X3, which is about to be redesigned. Expect it to be called the iX3, the name BMW uses for the electric current sold abroad. Likewise, the sedan will likely be called the i3, a name already used on an electric version of the current 3 Series sedan sold. exclusively in China.
BMW Vision Neue Klasse Concept
Four more Neue Klasse EVs will come in quick successionalthough they will likely be different versions of the initial sedan and crossover, like a station wagon or a coupe-style crossover.
The first Neue Klasse EV, possibly the SUV, will be built in a factory under construction in Debrecen, Hungary, starting in 2025. The timing points to it arriving in the US as a 2026 model.
Neue Klasse electric vehicles will also be built at BMW’s existing factories in Germany and China from 2026, and in San Luis Potosí, Mexico from 2027.