The 2024 BMW Group Annual Press Conference is set to take place next week when we’ll see a new concept previewing the brand’s electric future. Ahead of its March 21 debut, the EV reveals its name – Vision Neue Klasse X – and an already familiar dashboard design. Attached below, a teaser image released on social media shows a section of the minimalist cabin borrowed from last year’s Vision Neue Klasse sedan (above).
By adopting the “X” in its official name, we’re now certain that the new showcar will indeed be an SUV as previously predicted. To be more exact, the all-electric concept will be a preview of the next-generation iX3 scheduled to enter production in 2025. Essentially, next week’s concept will be an SUV version of the sedan we saw in September 2023 at the IAA Mobility show. Moving away from its current CLAR underpinnings, the all-new iX3 will switch to the Neue Klasse platform developed exclusively for electric vehicles.
The interior color seems to have changed from a mustard-like hue to burgundy for the Vision Neue Klasse X. Just like the sedan, its SUV sibling gets the tenth-generation infotainment system with a big screen in the middle of the dashboard. Instead of a digital driver’s display, these future EVs from BMW will have a sophisticated head-up display as wide as the dashboard. Sadly, the German luxury brand has already announced the iDrive controller will not be installed in Neue Klasse-based models.
There are going to be even fewer conventional controls inside these EVs compared to the current crop of models. The design language is also changing substantially since BMW seems to be going for the “less is more” approach – at least that’s what the styling of last year’s sedan concept suggested. Underneath the skin, these cars will be entirely new since no parts will be shared with current vehicles powered by combustion engines.
Neue Klasse will usher in Gen6 batteries with round cells that will boost charging speed and range (WLTP) by as much as 30%. BMW also touts a jump of over 20% in energy density and a reduction in emissions of 60% generated during the production cycle. SUVs will use cylindrical cells with a 120-mm height while regular cars get 95-mm cells. Regardless of body style, these EVs will have cells with a 46-mm diameter. The company wants to halve production costs compared to current Gen5 prismatic cells.
BMW iX3 production is reportedly starting in July 2025 at the Debrecen factory in Hungary. Come 2026, the i3 sedan will go into production in Munich. The identities of other EVs have not been announced yet but look for an i3 Touring and an iX4 at the very least. Rumor has it all four models are getting the full-fat M treatment in the second half of the decade. An entry-level i1 could arrive by 2028.
Source: BMW
