BMW Reveals New iX3, First of its All-Electric Neue Klasse

Setting the stage for the upcoming Munich Motor Show, hometown automaker BMW on Friday launched one of its most important product lines in decades. The new iX3 SUV is the first production version of the all-electric Neue Klasse and offers up to 400 miles range, ultra-fast charging and a new design language soon to reshape the rest of the BMW line-up. Headlight.News has more.

“The Neue Klasse is our biggest future-focused project and marks a huge leap forward in terms of technologies, driving experience, and design,” BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse said ahead of today’s debut of the new iX3.

The compact SUV is more than just the latest in BMW’s expanding line-up of battery-electric vehicles. It’s the first in what will soon be a family of so-called Neue Klasse – or “new class” – models that could address some of the concerns that have led to a sharp slowdown in the growth of EV sales worldwide.

Set to reach showrooms in Europe, the U.S. and other markets next year, the iX3 – and Neue Klasse models to follow – will introduce BMW’s next-generation electric drive technology, delivering substantial improvements in range, performance and charging speed. It will be the first to use the “Heart of Joy,” a new, high-speed computing system. And it will introduce a new design language that will strongly influence the entire BMW line-up to come.

The Neue Klasse

Ironically, the term, “Neue Klasse,” actually isn’t all that new, BMW first using it to describe a series of critical entries brought to market between 1962 and 1972, notably including the iconic 2002. In its latest incarnation, the name was revived in 2023 when BMW rolled out the Vision Neue Klasse concept at the IAA Mobility show in Munich.

“Practically everyting about it is new, yet it is also more BMW than ever,” said Zipse. “Our whole product range will benefit from the innovations brought by the Neue Klasse – whichever drive system technology is employed.”

While the innovations developed under the Neue Klasse banner will impact gas, hybrid and even hydrogen-powered products to come, the focus is on a new line of battery-electric vehicles, the first of which is the iX3 50 xDrive making its debut in Munich on Friday – with its first public showing set to follow at IAA Mobility 2025 next week.

The new iX3

Those familiar with BMW nomenclature will quickly recognize that the iX3 is meant to be the all-electric alternative to the familiar x3 “Sport Activity Vehicle.” Indeed, the dimensions of the two vehicles are all but identical, iX3 measuring 188.3 inches in total length, barely an inch longer than today’s gas-powered X3. But interior space is closer to that of an X5 since the all-electric model is based off a skateboard like platform that has its battery pack and key electric drive components mounted under the load floor. That frees up some of the space normally devoted to the X3’s engine compartment of passengers and cargo space – including a 2 cubic-foot truck and 30.4 cf in the cargo bay. (That more than doubles, to 65 cf, with the rear seats folded down.)

The iX3 becomes the first model to introduce BMW’s new, sixth-generation eDrive system which is smaller, lighter and markedly more efficient than the prior technology. At launch, the iX3 50 xDrive will feature twin motors creating a through-the-road all-wheel-drive system. Later in the year, expect to see a second version featuring a single-motor rear-wheel-drive package. And still other variants are likely to follow, with the latest eDrive system eventually set to be used in other all-electric model lines.

With the launch of iX3, meanwhile, BMW is debuting an all-new design language, as well as a radically redesigned computing system that relies on four centralized “superbrains,” rather than the traditional, “distributed” approach with dozens of microprocessors scattered around the vehicle.

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The new eDrive

BMW’s eDrive technology has come a long way from the little i3 city car first introduced back in 2013. The sixth-generation technology, the automaker claims, reduces energy losses by 40% compared to the Gen-5 system found on models like the current BMW i7. That’s one reason BMW anticipates an EPA range estimate of around 400 miles. Meanwhile, weight is down 10%, while manufacturing costs have been reduced by 20%.

The iX3 relies on two different motor designs: a new Asynchronous Motor on the front axle, and an Electrically Excited Synchronous Motor at the rear. Together, they produce 463 hp and 476 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough to launch the compact utility vehicle from 0-60 in 4.7 seconds, according to factory testing, with a top speed of 130 mph. The maximum towing capacity is 4,400 pounds.

With the Neue Klasse, BMW migrates to an 800-volt electrical architecture, a critical move to improve not only energy efficiency but charging speed – and here’s where iX3 could overcome one of the biggest reasons why many potential buyers reject EVs.

If you can find a quick enough public DC charger, iX3 will be able to handle up to 400 kW of current, enough to add as much as 230 miles more range in “just 10 minutes,” the automaker claims. And it says “the high-voltage battery can be charged from 10 to 80% capacity in just 21 minutes.” The system can handle up to 19.2 kW of current using the built-in AC Level 2 charger. BMW has yet to confirm the size of the pack, with its new cylindrical lithium-ion batteries, but that should allow an owner to fully recharge a drained battery in 8 hours or less.

Retro-futuristic design

“With our new design language, the new BMW iX3 looks future-focused, modern, and timeless,” said Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design. But there’s also a bit of a retro touch, he added, a very modern interpretation of what BMW has always stood for.” Think legendary models from the era of the original Neue Klasse: the ‘60s BMW 1600, and the ‘70s 2002, the little sports sedan that really put BMW on the map.

As you’d expect of a modern EV, van Hooydonk’s team spent a lot of time working details out in the wind tunnel to hone features like the flush door handles, the slightly downward-sloping roofline, and seals that smooth out the way glass surfaces flow into the body.

Yet the nose is more blunt and upright, introducing a new take on the brand’s iconic double-kidney grille. This Neue Klasse package introduces a new, horizontal “four-eyed” lighting scheme and a revised take on the classic BMW double-kidney signature. A gently tapering roofline flows into a muscular rear end with broad shoulders.

Expect to see the Neue Klasse design language begin to influence the rest of the BMW product line-up, according to van Hooydonk, though the dimensions will be different depending upon whether you’re looking at all-electric or other product lines.

High-tech and roomy: a look inside

As earlier noted, the cabin of the iX3 is markedly roomier than the gas-powered X3, and almost as spacious as the familiar X5. The design team further accented the open feeling with details BMW describes as “an uncluttered, reduced design.”

A floating instrument features a 17.9-inch central touchscreen that also can be operated by voice or steering wheel buttons. The big surprise is the lack of a rotary knob on the center console. With the Panoramic Vision System, key data points are displayed on the left lower corner of the windshield, meaning a driver’s eyes will seldom stray from the road. There’s also an optional 3D Head-Up Display.

The seats are completely new, well-padded yet more modern in appearance. There’s a distinct reduction in plastic trim to the cabin – which can be lavished in either vegan materials or, for traditionalists, Merino Leather. For those who prefer traditional controls, BMW has retained plenty of knobs and switches for functions like sideview mirrors, volume, and key climate control operations.

A “Heart of Joy”

As you’d expect, the iX3 is a technical showcase. There are the usual features, such as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless smartphone charging and a built-in WiFi hotspot. The new Security Assistant can issue a digital alert if there’s an attempted break-in, with an owner then able to remotely look inside and out using the BMW app. The Drive Recorder is BMW’s built-in alternative to a dash cam. The list of advanced driver assistance systems, meanwhile is extensive. But all that technology is connected in a very different way.

BMW’s new “Heart of Joy” system starts out by borrowing a page from the Tesla playbook with processing largely centralized in four “superbrains,” rather than using low-tech microprocessors scattered around the vehicle. The automaker claims the system is what’s now available in the best of its current products and “will operate “drivetrain, brakes, charging, recuperation, and steering functions (and) processes information ten times faster than previous systems.”

“The Heart of Joy enables us to take driving pleasure not just to the next level, but another one beyond that,” added Frank Weber, the member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Development.

Among other things, iX3 allows a driver to personalize a broad range of vehicle settings, everything from steering feel to the simulated audio soundtrack that can replace the rumble of a traditional internal combustion engine. The My Modes system includes Sport, Efficient and Silent presets. But a driver also can customize individual settings, perhaps opting for a softer ride but firmer steering.

Availability and Pricing

Production of the iX3 50 xDrive will begin at BMW’s plant in Debrecen, Hungary during the first quarter of 2026, deliveries scheduled to start in Europe and then reach the U.S. by Summer. Look for a starting price of around $60,000 – though that could go up if BMW decides to pass on the penalty it will face due to Pres. Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported autos.

The rear-drive version of the iX3 will follow later in the year and still other variants are expected.

Eventually, BMW will roll out other EVs based on the Neue Klasse, and some likely will be built in the U.S. at the automaker’s massive assembly plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It’s already setting up a new battery plant just a few miles away.

The Heart of Joy system eventually will be used across the BMW line-up, and the new design language will have broad influence, as well.