First BMW Neue Klasse will be iX3 in 2024, i3 sedan & wagon due from 2026

BMW’s first ‘new class’ model to hit the road won’t be the four-door i3 previewed this week by the Vision Neue Klasse – but the next iX3 electric SUV. Of course.

This raises the question of whether the X-badged Neue Klasse SUVs will share the horizontal front-end grille design with the sedan – or whether there is a new SUV-specific signature in the making.

While the iX3 taps the NK tech cluster, the next X3 remains loyal to the CLAR WE DNA. The different underpinnings suggest different dash-to-axle ratios, but the styling between ICE and EV will again be almost identical – repeating the strategy chosen for the new 7 Series & i7, and the upcoming three-door Mini.

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The same scheme will allegedly be repeated for the future 3 Series and the Neue Klasse-based i3, expected in late 2026. The electric i3 Touring wagon and its ICE sibling are due to follow six months later.

"Design can speed up change," states the man in charge, styling boss Adrian van Hooydonk. "The Vision Neue Klasse is so progressive it looks like we skipped one model generation."

The new mid-liner still displays must-have design elements like big 21-inch aero wheels, set-back greenhouse, monolithic proportions and extra-clean surfaces.

While we can understand that BMW does not want to create a two-class society like Mercedes has done with the combustion-based E-Class and electric-only EQE, the cab-backward silhouette of Vision NK does not seem to be the logical first choice for an EV which has no need for an engine bay.

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The BMW Neue Klasse concept

Wouldn’t the i3 be better off with a longer wheelbase, as in part compensation for the massive underfloor battery pack which pushes up the H-point by however small a margin, compromising the already tightish packaging?

To which extent, and where exactly, does the identikit design have a negative effect on cabin space? And how does the saloon fare in this respect vis-à-vis the stacked iX3?

BMW to update its model naming

Applications filed with the EU trademark authorities suggest a pending change of nomenclature which will likely kick off with the Neue Klasse launch.

While the X3 will reportedly be badged X320 and X330, the iX3 goes on sale as iX330, iX340 and iX350.

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The current BMW iX3, based on the regular petrol and diesel X3 range.

The same formula is valid for the rest of the range with the 560, 660 and 760 monikers gracing the top-of-the-line models.

According to the unofficial launch schedule, the new iX4 will be introduced at the same time as the i3. In the third quarter of 2027, insiders expect the second-edition iX1, one more Neue Klasse offspring.

Towards the end of the same calendar year, the fully electric i1 five-door hatchback is due to see the light, filling the void left wide open by the departing A-Class.

While the future of the 2 Series coupé is said to be iffy, the 2 Series GranCoupé prevails as i2 only in long-wheelbase guise which suggests it will be sold exclusively in China.

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The current BMW i4 electric sedan.

2028 is the tentative launch window for the i4 coupé, convertible and the MkII i4 GranCoupé.

Rounding off the first wave of NK entries is the i7 replacement informants pencil in for 2029. In the sequel to this piece, we are going to tell you what the M division and the new Alpina subbrand have up their high-voltage sleeves.

While it is not clear whether Mini will at some point also join the NK faction, the mould-breaking lead car of the Bavarian electric revolution – the full-size iX – will almost certainly bite the dust at the end of its first and only life cycle in 2028.

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The final surprise of the day concerns the X5, X6, X7 and XM which will, contrary to common belief, not just yet switch to the Neue Klasse platform.

Instead, the large SUVs continue to ride on the CLAR WE components set in ECE and EV guise well into the next decade.

How come? Because packing constraints are not such a big issue for full-size models and because it is logistically wiser to roll out the transformation in two waves.