BMW 1 Series and 2 Series with electric drive will be based on the Neue Klasse

i1 and i2 to be launched with front-wheel drive in 2027 and 2028 respectively

By: Stefan Leichsenring

Jun 26, 2024 at 6:00am ET

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BMW's trump card is the Neue Klasse. The new platform provides the basis for the successor to the iX3 and for the electric 3 Series. However, it will also be used for the electric versions of the 1 and 2 Series compact models.

It is officially known that the new electric X3 will roll off the production line in Debrecen, Hungary, from the end of 2025 and that the electric 3 Series will come from Munich (and Shenyang) from 2026. Four more models based on the Neue Klasse are to follow within the next two years.

Group CEO Oliver Zipse also said in May: "The innovations of the Neue Klasse will be incorporated into all BMW models over the next few years and regardless of the drive system. Simply put, technologically, everything at BMW will soon be Neue Klasse." This means that it is likely to be another multi-energy platform that also supports combustion engines, and the platform will (sooner or later) be used for all segments, from the BMW 1 Series to the X7.

BMW Vision New Class (2023)

BMW Vision New Class X (2024)

The Munich management has now given the green light for the electric 1 Series and the electric 2 Series, reports Autocar, citing anonymous sources. The compact models are also to be based on the new platform as the i1 and i2. The i1 is due to arrive in 2027 and the i2 in 2028. The 1 Series and 2 Series with combustion engines will also continue to be available. The models are to be updated again in this decade, but will not be converted to the new class, but will continue to be based on the front-wheel drive architecture (FAAR).

BMW 1 Series: The 2024 generation with a new look is based on FAAR

BMW 2 Series: The Coupé will only receive a FAAR-based facelift in 2024

The British car magazine also reports interesting facts about the different versions of the Neue Klasse architecture, according to which there are at least four variants:

NAx for smaller models with rear and all-wheel drive
NBx for front and all-wheel drive
NDx for luxury class models with rear and all-wheel drive
ZAx for electric sports cars from BMW M

The mid-range models iX3 and i3, which will be launched in 2025 and 2026 respectively, will be based on NAx, meaning that they will retain the usual rear-wheel drive or optional all-wheel drive. The i1 and i2 models, which will follow in 2027 and 2028 respectively, will be based on NBx, meaning that they will continue to have front-wheel or all-wheel drive.

The iX1 and its sister model, the Mini Countryman Electric, which are currently still based on FAAR, may also be converted to the Neue Klasse; they will then also be based on NBx. There is no mention of the Mini Cooper Electric and the Aceman in the report; presumably these new models will remain on the Spotlight platform developed together with Brilliance. The same probably applies to the Rolls-Royce Spectre, which has just been launched on the multi-energy platform Architecture of Luxury. All of the Group's other models are likely to switch to the Neue Klasse platform.

The Neue Klasse is an 800-volt platform for the first time, and cylindrical instead of prismatic battery cells are being used for the first time. The battery chemistry is also set to change. For the motors, however, BMW will continue to rely on its separately excited synchronous motors without magnets. The Neue Klasse supports not just one or two, but up to four motors - the quad-motor configuration will reportedly be used in the electric M3.

The design and operating logic are also said to differ significantly from today's models. However, this will not be used to differentiate the electric models from the fossil-fuelled versions, but the new design will be introduced on all models, whether electric or combustion-powered: "We will reorganise the entire portfolio in a relatively short time so that it has a uniform appearance and the same capabilities," BMW product boss Bernd Körber told Autocar.

The new BMW architecture is not the only new 800-volt platform. The new Mercedes EA and MMA platforms and Audi's Premium Platform Electric (PPE) also work with the higher voltage. The Hyundai Group has already had 800-volt vehicles for some time, and the larger STLA-supported 800 volts as well, even if no specific vehicle is yet known.

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The bottom line

The Neue Klasse marks the start of a completely new chapter at BMW. This applies not only to the voltage level and the batteries, but also to the design. The look shown in the Vision Neue Klasse and Vision Neue Klasse X studies will apparently also be used for the combustion engines. The first Neue Klasse vehicles are the i3 and iX3, but an i1 and an i2 are soon to follow as the first Neue Klasse models with front-wheel drive.

Source: Autocar