The BMW i7 was the star of the company’s annual media day, but the automaker also used the event to talk about an assortment of other upcoming vehicles.
Much of the focus was on Neue Klasse vehicles, which will ride on an all-new architecture and be built at a new iFactory in Hungary in 2025. Speaking of the latter, the plant will begin building the first Neue Klasse prototypes in August of 2024.
BMW is currently developing a new generation of battery cells for Neue Klasse vehicles and they’ll have an optimized cell chemistry. That isn’t much to go on, but details about the new battery technology will be released before the end of the year and the company said the advances should “significantly lower costs.”
Also Read: 2023 BMW i7 Shows Its Massive Grille, Debuts In April With 305 Mile Range
While the Neue Klasse is years off, BMW will “provide a first glimpse of the potential of the Neue Klasse for the next generation of connectivity and user interaction” within the next 12 months. The automaker also said they will “expand the percentage of recycled and reused materials used from the current average of almost 30 percent to 50 percent in the Neue Klasse.”
Near term, BMW will introduce the redesigned 7-Series on April 20th. While we’ve already talked about the i7, BMW confirmed the 7-Series will offer a “new generation of diesel and petrol engines” with improved efficiency. The company went on to say the model will be “fully using our Tech Stack for driver assistance functions” and this will allow for Level 3 highly automated driving, which will be presented before the end of the year.
2022 will also see the introduction of the iX1 as well as a “fully-electric variant of the BMW 3 Series Long-Wheelbase.” The latter model has been “specially customized for China” and pictures of the vehicle surfaced late last year showing it will adopt the i3 moniker.
The company will also provide a “glimpse of the all-new MINI family” later this year. Billed as “fully digitalized,” the next evolution of MINI promises an “electrified go-kart feeling, a clear focus on sustainability and a minimal environmental footprint.” The redesigned Cooper Hardtop has already been spied undisguised and will be followed by a new Countryman in 2023.
BMW said a fast-growing product range and strong demand means they expect electric vehicle sales to increase rapidly. The company expects to have more than two million EVs on the road by the end of 2025 and said EVs could make up to 50 percent of the company’s global sales before 2030.
While BMW is going electric, the company isn’t putting all their eggs in one basket as it doesn’t expect all global markets to have the “necessary framework conditions in place for all customers to transition to pure electromobility.” As a result, the company will offer highly efficient engines and is also exploring hydrogen fuel cells. The iX5 Hydrogen will arrive later this year for testing and demonstration purposes, while the company acknowledged a “hydrogen fuel cell is also conceivable for the Neue Klasse.”
Wrapping things up is a major online sales push as BMW wants to sell around a quarter of its vehicles entirely online by 2025. The company also gave a look ahead to CES 2023 by saying, “You can look forward to our #NextGen and our digital Vision Vehicle, our next vision for mobility in 2040.” Little is known about it, but the company referred to it as a “metaverse experience, combining the physical vehicle and the digital future.”
