- BMW has released tech details about its Gen6 eDrive EV technology.
- 800-volt system provides 30% improvements in charging and range.
- Gen6 debuts in this year’s Neue Klasse iX3 but Rolls and Mini also get it.
We’ve already got a pretty good idea what BMW’s Neue Klasse cars will look like both inside and out thanks to a couple of previous concepts and a Land of the Giants interior mock-up at this year’s CES in Vegas. But now, BMW is ready to talk tech and give us an idea of what its potentially game-changing models will be like under the skin.
Gen6 eDrive 800v Tech
Taking over from the current Gen5 eDrive technology, Gen6 arrives later this year in the first of the Neue Klasse cars, the iX3. But it will be rolled out to the entire lineup of BMW EVs in time, including M models, and will also find its way into Mini and Rolls Royce cars.
Related: BMW Vision Vehicle Is Our Best Look Yet At The iM3 Neue Klasse
At the heart of the package is 800-volt charging capability and a battery built from cylindrical, rather than than prismatic cells, that are a fifth more energy dense. BMW says Gen6 EVs will charge 30 percent faster and offer an additional 30 percent of range compared with the brand’s current electric cars, with certain models achieving even higher figures.
That range boost can’t come soon enough for some BMW EVs. The new iX2 xDrive30, for instance, has a WLTP rating of less than 285 miles (460 km). And the automaker says certain models will see range gains better than 30 percent. All Gen6 EVs will also be capable of bi-directional charging.
The cells are packed directly into the battery, rather than first being put into modules, and the battery becomes a structural component in the Neue Klasse cars. That helps cut weight and increase strength, and the completed battery packs are also very slim, BMW says, making them suitable for all kinds of cars, not just high-riding SUVs. That bodes well for the chance of BMW delivering some real sports cars in the electric age.
BMW has also revealed it will fit asynchronous motors to the front axle of all-wheel drive xDrive EVs because they are more compact and cheaper to build than the permanent synchronous type.
The Gen6 drive systems have been in pre-production at BMW’s Steyr, Austria, plant since summer 2024, but series production kicks off this September in time for the launch of the iX3 this fall. But to safeguard itself from any future political upheaval the batteries for the Neue Klasse cars will be built in five new production sites in Germany, Hungary, China, Mexico and the US.
