Switching the 'i' - Next gen 2026 BMW 3 Series EV to be called i320 and i330
Arvind · Jan 25, 2024 08:00 PM
0
0
Following its debut in 2018, sales of the current (G20) BMW 3 Series started in early-2019 followed by the facelift (LCI) which went on sale in 2023. The next generation 3 Series is expected in 2026 and will likely consist of full-electric (BEV) variants, alongside conventional powered ICE variants.
The best precursor of what’s to come is the BMW Vision Neue Klasse (which translates to New Class), the latest iteration of the BMW Dee concept that was first unveiled at the 2023 IAA Munich Auto Show. The sedan previewed by the Vision Neue Klasse concept will enter production in late-2025; thus, all signs point to it becoming the next generation 3 Series.
Now just as the BMW i7 and the 7 Series are the same cars with different powertrains, so should the next generation BMW 3 Series and the Neue Klasse sedan. Further drawing parallels to the i4 and regular 4 Series, i5 and the next generation 5 Series, you can surmise an i3 is on the cards.
We now know that to be just the case, although its not to be confused with the China-specific i3, a G20-generation 3 Series EV, or the original i3 EV hatchback.
According to Automotive News, with the arrival of the Neue Klasse range starting in 2026, BMW is expected to introduce a new nomenclature for its vehicles to avoid confusion to customers.
The new 3 Series EV sedan would be designated as the i320 or i330 depending on the variant, whilst ICE versions of the 3-Series combustion engine cars would drop the ‘i’ (for petrol variants) and ‘d’ (for diesels) in their name and be redesignated simply as the 320 and 330.
Coming full circle, its a naming convention that harks back days of the first-generation (E21) 3 Series, although back then, models without ‘I’ in its name referred to variants with carburetted engines instead of the ‘cutting-edge’ fuel-injected ones.
The original Neue Klasse, the BMW 1600 (later renamed to 1602) was a pivotial shift in BMW's post-war recovery, it laid the foundation for the 3 Series we know and love today
Now, at the cusp of the most intense automotive revolution in 100 years, and its transition to CASE – Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric vehicles – BMW is once again counting on a new generation of Neue Klasse, let’s call it Neue Klasse 2.0, to reboot the blue-white roundel badge into what BMW Group calls a Electric, Circular, and Digital future.
And it leads this charge with a modern twist of a familiar face, and now a familiar name.
Arvind can't remember a time when he didn't wheel around a HotWheels car. This love evolved into an interest in Tamiya and RC cars and finally the real deal 1:1 scale stuff. Passion finally lead to formal training in Mechanical Engineering. Instead of the bigger picture, he obsesses with the final drive ratio and spring rates of cars and spends the weekends wondering why a Perodua Myvi is so fast.
