BMW is set to continue its rollout of the Neue Klasse battery-electric technology and will start bringing it to market later this year in the form of the first-ever all-electric X3 and 3 Series models. The automaker has offered a hint of what’s coming with the sedan version with images of a barely disguised prototype undergoing winter testing.
The production version of the Neue Klasse, in sedan form, is shown during winter testing.
We’ve heard a lot about BMW’s Neue Klasse technology over the past couple years. We’re finally getting a sense of what it will look like in production when the all-electric 2026 BMW 3 Series shows up later this year.
It will likely be badged an i3 — though it will have nothing in common with the little all-electric city car the Bavarian automaker previously offered.
The Neue Klasse, German for “new class,” will bring more than just a new EV to the BMW lineup. It will introduce a new design language, an all-new, all-electric platform using a new 800-volt architecture and the new “Heart of Joy” computer processing system which, the automaker said in an Instagram post delivers “driving dynamics that enable more precision and energy efficiency. “
Neue Klasse arrives
Like most manufacturers, BMW plans to rapidly expand its line-up of battery-electric vehicles, though it isn’t ready to abandon internal combustion technology. There will be a next-generation gas-powered 3 Series, which should come as relief to traditionalists not yet ready to plug into battery technology.
But that line will share many of the same features, and design, of the Neue Klasse which BMW has spent several years preparing the market for.
“The Neue Klasse reflects the variety of all the models that customers want today and in the future — from sport sedan, with all its derivatives, to modern SAV family,” BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse previously said when the automaker showed off its Vision X prototype. “In this way, we are underlining that the Neue Klasse is much more than just a car or a specific concept; it is redefining the BMW brand — and, at the same time, will be more BMW than ever.”
Changing plans
A parked version of the all-electric i3 is caught wearing minimal camouflage.
BMW has shifted direction several times over the past decade, since rolling out the little i3 city car. Early on, the automaker was planning to launch unique platforms exclusively for battery models. It then reversed course, focusing on flexible “architectures” that could handle both gas and electric powertrains. It’s again done a 180 and models based on the Neue Klasse platform will, indeed, be solely electric.
That said, the platform does have the capacity to draw power solely from a battery pack or use a downsized pack and a refillable hydrogen fuel-cell stack. The latter approach would allow for rapid refueling to allow for extended range.
BMW may yet rethink its approach, however. While conventional wisdom across the industry has been to develop separate gas and electric platforms, a number of automakers have gone with a more flexible approach to hold down costs now that it appears EV sales will grow at a slower pace than once expected. An example is the “multi-energy” approach taken by Stellantis. The new Dodge Charger, for example, will be available with a choice of both EV and ICE drivetrains.
BMW will have gas and electric 3 Series models, but they will use separate platforms.
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The “Heart of Joy”
The new 3 Series will use four superbrains dubbed Heart of Joy.
One of the more intriguing features promised for the Neue Klasse has been dubbed the “Heart of Joy.”
Today’s vehicles are computers on wheels. But most use what is called a “distributed processing” approach with lots of microprocessors scattered around the vehicle. There are separate ones for pretty much every onboard sensor, every motor, just about every electrical device. Picking up on the Tesla playbook, BMW will move away from the current approach, paring back on the number of standalone microprocessors on the vehicle, instead moving control to four high-power central processing units.
“The Heart of Joy enables us to take driving pleasure not just to the next level, but another one beyond that,” Frank Weber, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Development explained in a release last month.
He claimed the approach will allow it to control functions such as drivetrain, brakes, charging, recuperation, and steering up to 10 times faster than today. “In addition, we are further increasing efficiency, and therefore boosting range, as in future the driver will brake almost exclusively using energy regeneration. This is Efficient Dynamics squared.”
Forward into the past
Look for the Neue Klasse technology to arrive first in X3 skin, then as this i3 sedan.
For those with a real sense of history, “Neue Klasse” might bring a sense of déjà vu. That name was used back in the 1960s for a platform that pretty much set the stage for what the automaker has become today, starting with the iconic BMW 2002 and subsequent 3 Series.
As back then, the new Neue Klasse family will get a new platform, new technology and a new look.
These images show that BMW won’t stray far from the look of the Vision Neue Klasse X concept. It picks up on some familiar BMW design cues, such as the iconic double-kidney grille. But it adopts a narrow, vertical layout that’s more 3-dimensional than on current BMW models. That’s echoed by the new headlights and rear lighting which may, in production, borrow 3D-printed elements teased by the show car
As for the interior, the team led by BMW design chief Adrian van Hooydonk has opted for a more minimalist approach, with a simplified, largely digital instrument cluster. One notable change from today’s models: the familiar iDrive rotary knob will be abandoned.
Timing
The release of these images shows just how far along the Neue Klasse project has gotten. An official unveiling of the production model could be just months away.
BMW actually is expected to bring the new family to life with an all-electric version of the X3 — or iX3 — set to arrive in dealer showrooms late this calendar year. The i3 sedan should make its appearance in 2026, based on what analysts currently have on their planning documents.
The gas-powered version of the next 3 Series should arrive roughly the same time.
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