What we know!

When it comes to their design language, it’s all things new for this electric duo, each boasting a fresh approach that will be embraced by all models, including even those powered by combustion engines. This Neue Klasse model, the i3, will sport a more conventional sedan shape, and represents a new phase in EV engineering for the automaker. The iX3 showed production-ready headlights and taillights, while the i3 had a provisional setup.

Under skin, the iX3, an SUV, and i3, will be the first to adopt the BMW Group’s Gen6 batteries, with these cylindrical cells enabling 30 percent faster charging, 20 percent higher energy density and 30 percent longer range than Gen5 prismatic batteries. In addition to these batteries, engineers have also developed more efficient electric motors that will lose weight. There will be cars with one, two, three and even four motors, with BMW ruling out front-wheel-drive EVs in the Neue Klasse era.

Neue Klasse cars will also support an 800-volt electrical architecture which allows for ultra-fast charging. In what is considered an ideal scenario, the battery will translate into 186 miles of travel range following 10 minutes of charge. That means that vehicles like the iX3 and i3 will also support bidirectional charging, turning the cars into power banks. When it comes to the crossover, the overall efficiency will jump by 20 percent versus the outgoing CLAR-based model. This will be possible by streamlining the body, installing aero wheels and mounting new EV-specific brakes.

More details on this and the Neue Klasse is expected as the iX3’s world premiere nears, but what is most likely is at least 373 miles of range, if not more, from the iX3 when it arrives stateside.

Only the iX3 has received its name officially so far, but it’s fairly certain the sedan will also follow suit. Both vehicles will be capable of over-the-air updates, smartphone integration and improvements over time. They will also feature a zonal architecture with 2,000 feet less wiring than current EVs and less weight and more efficiency.

Within the iX3 will be four “super-brains” and the “Heart of Joy” drivetrain management system.

In the hot and cold weather conditions, both vehicles were tested in South Africa, showing the kind of truly impressive machines they will ultimately be at launch.

BMW began pre-production of the first NK model, a compact crossover, in November and recently confirmed that it will debut at the 2025 Munich Auto Show in September. Prior to this announcement is when videos of the testing were released.

Looking back, the original i3, debuting in 2013 and ending its production in 2022, featured an unusual tall-and-narrow shape and unorthodox engineering, including a body structure made in part from carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. More than 250,000 were made during the i3’s nine-year production run. This departure left the automaker without a small, entry-level EV, something that the i3 and its presence will rectify. Named after the family of models credited with saving BMW in the 1960s, the NK represents a new phase in EV engineering, with technical details being leaked for some time, including the 800-volt electrical architecture, a switch to cylindrical battery cells and front induction motors as well as a chassis-control unit, the previously mentioned “Heart of Joy.”

Extreme-weather testing ahead of a 2026 debut only adds to the overall excitement in BMW’s new offerings. With clean design, plenty of range and carrying forth a legacy, the new i3 and iX3 have what it takes! Keep an eye out on their production and reserve yours today!