But while the new EV moves on to the Neue Klasse platform, the more familiar ICE variants will be based on an updated version of the CLAR platform in use today.
Weber said: “When a large part of your sales is electric, you have to consider how you align all platforms for volume growth. We are firmly convinced that our strength in conventional internal-combustion-engine models, together with the developments that we have in store for our next generation of electric models, will lead to further growth for BMW.”
Production of the Audi Q6 E-tron and Porsche Macan Electric rival, which is being developed for sale in each of BMW’s existing markets, will take place at a new factory in Debrecen, Hungary, from 2025.
BMW’s plants in Munich, Germany, and San Luis Potosí, Mexico, are also slated to begin production of Neue Klasse models from 2026 and 2027.
Until now, the iX3 and Chinese-market i3 saloon have been produced exclusively at BMW’s factory in Dadong, China. Production of the new ICE X3, on the other hand, will remain at BMW’s Spartanburg plant in the US.
At the centre of the developments brought to the Neue Klasse architecture is a new sixth-generation lithium ion battery. Developed in-house at BMW, it dispenses with the prismatic cells of existing electric-powered BMW models for new cylindrical cells featuring liquid cooling.