BMW intends to launch six battery-electric vehicles based on its Neue Klasse platform before the end of this decade, the first two of which are expected to compete in the midsize segment.
Found at the heart of the new architecture will be a redesigned battery pack that forms part of the vehicle’s body structure and reduces both weight and costs. In a move to improve packaging, lower the height of the pack, and increase energy density, BMW will also switch from cylindrical cells to prismatic cells.
Read: BMW Neue Klasse Concept Reboots The Brand And The 3-Series For The Electric Age (Live Pics)
BMW says the sixth-generation eDrive system to debut in its Neue Klasse vehicles, consisting of the lithium-ion battery pack, electric motor, and the intelligent energy management system, will offer 30% greater range and 30% quicker charging than the outgoing system while also improving efficiency by 25%. This new system is based on an 800-volt architecture and will also be 40% more cost-effective than the current eDrive system.
The first model underpinned by this new platform will be the second-generation iX3, serving as a replacement for the current model that is based on the combustion-powered X3. This model is expected to launch in late 2025 and will be built at a factory in Hungary while an extended wheelbase version will be produced and sold in China. The following year, BMW will follow it up with an electric sedan similar in size to the current 3-Series and built at its factory in Munich before production later expands into Mexico and China.
Launching in the footsteps of these two models will be a coupe-styled sedan dubbed the iX4 and followed up by a station wagon version tipped to arrive in 2027. Auto News notes that the sixth Neue Klasse model will take the form of a compact utility vehicle to replace the iX1.
In addition to each of these new models arriving with advanced underpinnings, they are also expected to look quite a lot different than BMW’s current models, adopting similar styling elements to the Vision Neue Klasse that BMW introduced last year.
