BMW: An Electric Fleet Led by the i7 Limousine

Starting with the luxurious i7, BMW’s electric wave will be followed by a new platform “Neue Klasse” in 2025.

BMW is doing well, just like most automotive groups in 2021. Its results are flourishing after a stagnant 2020. Sales increased by 8% to 2.42 million vehicles, and profits tripled to €12.4 billion.

In its financial report this week, the German company announced that 2022 will be just as good. This is despite the component shortage and war in Ukraine, which still slightly dampen the margin to around 8% instead of the targeted 10%.

i7, but also Mini and Rolls

In 2022, new models will follow one after another. The flagship BMW i7 already provides some details before its mid-April presentation in Beijing, China. This electric limousine, derived from the 7 Series, will feature the large grille from the XM concept. Its power will be 540 horsepower (400 kW) and it will have an autonomy of about 600 km.

While the i3 derived from the 3 Series “long” version is reserved for China, the BMW i5 will be the electric equivalent of the 5 Series worldwide. Its production will only start on a large scale in 2023, along with the iX1, cousin of the X1 SUV. The BMW iX1 will compete with the Mercedes EQA and the Swedish Volvo C40 Recharge, with around 425 km of range.

Precisely, the base of this model will serve as the platform for the next electric Mini Countryman, which will debut next year with the new generation Mini electric. The chic urban brand will also give a preview of its future lineup by the end of the year.

As for Rolls-Royce, the first electric is in the pipeline. The Spectre, promised for 2023, will initiate the transition to a 100% electric lineup by 2030.

In total, 15 electric cars will make up the “i” family, including Mini in 2022, encompassing “pre-production models”, but with some models still unknown.

Neue Klasse, the unified platform for BMW electric vehicles

By 2025, BMW will go from being a laggard to leading ahead of its time. Today, the manufacturer is one of the few still relying on platforms adaptable to both combustion and electric vehicles. In summary, the i4 sedan is based on a 4 Series Gran coupe chassis, and the iX uses that of the X5.

The evolution would be to offer several electric platforms. This is what Stellantis with its 4 STLA platforms plans to do. However, BMW has a narrower and more diverse range, moving toward a single base. The “Neue Klasse” (New Class, which sounds a bit like Mercedes) will be this single platform.

All electric cars, and thus Rolls-Royce or Mini aiming for 100% electric by 2030, will use it. Unlike Volkswagen, which is unveiling its future Trinity platform, debuting the SSP base in 2026, the Bavarian manufacturer provides no details about the first model. The only certainty from CEO Oliver Zipse is that it will be adapted for hydrogen. Could it be a successor to the BMW iX5 Hydrogen prototype?

Just like Volkswagen’s Trinity will have its own factory, BMW’s Neue Klasse will have its “iFactory” sites. The two European plants will be located in Munich and Debrecen (Germany), the third in Shenyang, China, where the iX3 and future i3 are produced. The brand also hopes to sell a quarter of its vehicles online, similar to Tesla.

For the long term, BMW has already envisioned future concepts with the Next 100 (its 2016 centennial) and last year’s BMW i Vision Circular. At CES 2023, BMW will present its vision of the 2040 car, called “Next Gen”.

What about other mobility options?

A small disappointment from BMW, which focused its announcements mainly on the car, especially the electric one. However, its BMW Motorrad division has similar margins (8%) and recorded over 194,000 sales in 2021.

The leader presented the recent electric scooter BMW CE 04, futuristic and electric, and announced that “all urban models will switch to electric in the future”. Another model will follow in 2023, and new models will follow every “18 to 24 months”. We would have liked more information about the formats and target customers. The same goes for bicycles, which were absent, although they showcased at the Munich salon in September 2021.

Also read: BMW i3: ending its career in summer 2022?