- BMW’s first Neue Klasse EV scheduled for 2025
- Neue Klasse design and technology will not be excluded from gas cars
- Next 3 Series will probably be the first gasoline car with Neue Klasse design
BMW is working on a new generation of electric vehicles known as the Neue Klasse series, and last year previewed the first two arrivals with the New Class Vision sedan and New X-Class Vision SUV concepts.
However, these concepts also envision designs – as well as technology – that BMW will use it in future gas-powered carssaid the automaker’s head of design, Adrian van Hooydonk. Superior equipment in an interview published on Thursday.
“The big push with EVs, these technologies and this design language, will carry over to the entire product portfolio, including our combustion vehicles,” he said.
He added that there will be some slight differences in proportions between vehicles to suit their specific powertrain, especially inside, since gas models will still require a transmission tunnel, but the overall appearance, as well as any technology in the car, it will be the same.
Adrian van Hooydonk
In his interview with Top Gear, van Hooydonk also said that the production models that the Vision Neue Klasse and Vision Neue Klasse X will spawn will be very similar to the concepts, comparing the proximity in design to that of the previous i3 and i8 and their respective concepts.
“You know how close the i3 and i8 were to their concept cars, that’s what’s going to happen here,” he said.
The Vision Neue Klasse X previews a compact crossover that will likely be called the iX3 and launch in 2025 as the first Neue Klasse EV. Camouflaged prototypes were seen in the wild.
BMW Vision New Class
It will be followed in 2026 by a production version of the Vision Neue Klasse concept, which will be a compact sedan likely badged as an i3. This model is expected to closely resemble the next gas-powered 3 Seriesscheduled for around 2027.
One of the new automotive technologies debuting in the first Neue Klasse vehicle and expected to be common in future BMWs is a user interface that relies on head-up displays and steering wheel controls. There will be a head-up display to present important driving information and another for the infotainment system. There will also be a touchscreen in the center of the dashboard, although the digital gauge cluster from BMW’s current fleet may go.
The vehicles, regardless of their powertrain, will also feature a significant amount of recycled materials to help reduce the overall environmental footprint.