2025 BMW i3 electric sedan imagined

New computer artwork has teased what the electric future of the BMW 3 Series sedan, which will hit showrooms in 2025, might look like.

The German automaker has confirmed that it plans to debut its ‘Neue Klasse’ architecture, which will underpin the next generation of its electric car lineup, at a series 3midsize sedan due 2025, widely tipped to use the i3 Badge.

He Concept i Vision Dee revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the US last week is believed to preview the styling of the new sedan and digital artist teatle has illustrated what the show car might look like in production form.

The CES concept car follows the 2021 i Vision Circular show car in previewing a new design language for bmwtrading large grilles and bold features for a simple, minimalist look that BMW designers call “reductive design.”

Key BMW design features were “reimagined” in the concept, the company says: dual “kidney”-shaped front grilles are obscured and become styling features, while quadruple circular headlamps become diagonal stripes. .

Theottle’s rendering retains the shape of the i Vision Dee, but adds door mirrors, door handles and road-requisite license plates, plus production wheels, a new rear bumper and a front air intake to cool the battery. .

The thick black trim around the concept’s side windows has been retained, albeit toned down. A similar design feature is seen on the i Vision Circular concept, suggesting it could be a key design feature on future BMW production cars.

The i Vision Dee’s four headlamp stripes may not provide the illumination (high/low beam, daytime running lights and indicators) needed for a production car, so we’ve added some small LED projector beams behind the front glass panels.

Few technical details of the cars on the Neue Klasse chassis have been confirmed; However, the executives have announced that they will not share anything with previous BMW cars, and the new platform is the most expensive project in the history of BMW.

BMW has confirmed that the Neue Klasse electric platform, named after the cars that saved BMW from bankruptcy in the 1950s, will debut in 2025 with a car the size of the 3 Series, ahead of an SUV the size of the BMW X3.

However, it’s unclear if the current gasoline-powered 3 Series will be directly replaced by the electric car, as some reports suggest, or if the gasoline will live on, either as another update to the current model or as a new model with redesign. bodywork on drag struts.

According to a UK report Auto magazine, Neue Klasse cars can offer battery packs between 75kWh and 150kWh, between 200kW and 1000kW, ultra-fast charging and up to 600km of claimed driving range.

The publication reports that regular BMW models are planned to offer single-motor or dual-motor four-wheel-drive rear-wheel-drive options, while performance M models will upgrade to four motors, one at each wheel.

Neue Klasse car batteries adopt a design similar to Tesla’s, packaging the battery cells in 46mm diameter cylindrical containers.

BMW claims that its next-generation batteries can offer up to 30% more range, 30% faster recharging (between 10% and 80%) and emit 60% less CO2 during production, by half of the price of current designs.

According to Tesla’s latest cars, BMW’s batteries will be what’s described as “structural.” – which means that instead of packaging the cells in modules that fit into packs, the modules are removed, mounting the battery cells directly in the pack and using them in the car’s central structure.

This reduces costs by eliminating the need to produce battery modules, while giving car manufacturers more space to package battery cells in each car.

Production of the BMW i3 electric sedan is due to start in 2025, or 2026, if there are delays, at three factories: in Germany, Mexico and a new facility in Hungary.

If previous BMW models are any guide, expect to see photos of the first prototypes on Europe’s public roads later this year, or two years before the car goes on sale abroad.