BMW has shown the new electric BMW 3 Series for the first time and confirmed it will arrive next year badged i3.
Revealed in camouflaged form at the launch of the new iX3 electric SUV on Friday, the car has evolved from the striking Vision Neue Klasse concept that was revealed in 2023.
The saloon will become the second model in the company's Neue Klasse range.
This will be the first time BMW offers a 3 Series-sized model with an electric powertrain in Europe. When it arrives next year, it will be the smallest EV the brand offers.
It inherits its name from the seminal BMW i3 electric hatchback, which went out of production in 2022.
Speaking at the iX3 launch, BMW chairman Oliver Zipse said: “This is the new i3 that will arrive next year and be all electric. It’s the first model variant of the new 3 Series generation.
“You will recognise classic proportions of a typical sporty BMW.
“For the past 50 years across multiple model generations, no other model has been as tied to the BMW brand as the 3 Series. It represents sheer driving pleasure at its finest.
"The iX3 and i3 are powerful symbols of the broad spectrum the Neue Klasse models will cover.”
When the new iX3 and i3 arrive next year, they will spearhead a huge product offensive from BMW.
Zipse said that, starting next year, the brand will launch a new version of each model, adding: “We will launch 40 new and updated models by 2027.”
Shown for the first time under camouflage, the i3 appeared in production form. The car has been spotted testing on public roads over the past year (below).
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The i4 and CN i3 Saloon really got burned with this version of BMW BEV history.
And yet there's loads of newly registered BMW on the roads, and more if you count the older stuff back five years before,so most must be fine with the looks of BMW ,there as common as Fords and Hyundai ,so BMW must be getting it right somehow.
Fingers crossed that the camoflague isn't hiding any nasty surprises because so far, the proportions are looking very nice.
My main issue with the NK i3 is short wheelbase loo compared with the ICE 3 Series. The Germans know that the cab-forward look was a turn off, but still stunted the i3's dash-to-axle length.