The BMW Group has made its intentions clear of transitioning to becoming an all-electric brand. There are a host of launches right from the iX, iX3, i4, i7 and the upcoming i5 in the pipeline. The first vision concept in the Neue Klasse series will be revealed at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas in January next year. In a statement made at the quarterly conference, Dr. Nicolas Peter, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, said, “The next highlight on our road to the Neue Klasse will follow in January 2023. At the CES in Las Vegas, we will be unveiling a Vision Vehicle that will underpin our digital expertise.”
While the information is scarce around what car will come out of this Neue Klasse range, we expect it to be a compact sedan. It will, most likely, be the most affordable electric car of the lot and will likely be the same size as the 3 Series.
The big focus for the Neue Klasse will be the vehicle architecture. The newly-developed BMW round cell is optimised for the future vehicle architecture of the Neue Klasse. It represents an enormous technological leap. BMW says that the round cell will focus on an increase of 20 per cent in energy density, a 30 per cent increase in range and a 30 per cent increase in charging speed.
But the bigger news that the cost of the high-voltage battery will be reduced by up to 50 per cent. The production version of the Neue Klasse is expected to hit global markets by 2025.
