From October 1, the BMW Group is revamping its design team. However, don’t expect a new visual identity to be implemented overnight. These things take a long time to bring to market. An automaker typically freezes a car’s design several years before production starts. That means all models programmed to come out in the mid-term have already been penned by the old teams at BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce.
We asked the Head of BMW Group Design Adrian van Hooydonk to give us a more accurate timeframe: “The current product portfolio has already been finalized. Next products influenced by Oliver and Max will come after 2029.” As a refresher, Oliver Heilmer will be responsible for all the compact and midsize BMWs, so from the 1 Series to the 3 Series / X3. In addition, the former MINI design boss is in charge of the M cars. Maximilian Missoni will lead the design of upper-midsize and luxury-class models. In other words, from 5 Series / X5 and up. In addition, he’ll work on models for the newly established BMW Alpina sub-brand.
2024-2030 Are Busy Years For BMW
In the meantime, the rest of the decade is looking extremely busy for BMW. We’re going to see the next 2 Series Gran Coupe before the year’s end. The luxury brand is also doing a long-wheelbase version for the Chinese market. Next year will mark the return of the Neue Klasse as a lineup of dedicated EVs. The iX3 will lead the way, followed by the i3 sedan in 2026. There will be at least six NK-based vehicles on sale before 2028.
As previously reported, BMW is hard at work preparing the new X5, X6, and X7 on the CLAR platform with battery-powered electric derivatives. They’re all coming out in the 2026-2028 interval, with the X5 likely to get a hydrogen variant as well. Concomitantly, new 3 Series Sedan (G50) and 3 Series Touring (G51) are in the works, plus a G84 M3 Sedan with a gas engine.
We only mentioned new cars but there will be many LCIs in the following years. The iX should lead the way early in 2025, while recent spy shots have revealed the 7 Series LCI is undergoing testing. Some of these mid-cycle facelifts will transition to the iDrive X we’ll first see in 2025 on the Neue Klasse iX3.
All these cars have already been designed by the outgoing team led by Domagoj Dukec. Next month, he’ll become the Head of Rolls-Royce Design. Chances are his work will exclusively revolve around electric cars considering RR aims to go EV-only by 2030.
