“ICE and combustion won’t ever disappear. By no means,” mentioned Jochen Goller, member of the board of administration of BMW AG for buyer, manufacturers and gross sales. With that single line, BMW underlined a method we’ve been monitoring for months: a twin future the place combustion and electrical energy coexist, and profitability comes from flexibility, not absolutes.
That philosophy is now codified in BMW’s choice to consolidate its total lineup onto simply three platforms:
Combustion-only platform: A devoted ICE structure for entry-level automobiles. These will proceed to serve markets the place EV adoption lags and infrastructure is unreliable. BMW is aware of that throughout areas like India, the Center East, and Japanese Europe, petrol-powered automobiles will stay crucial for gross sales nicely into the 2030s.
Multi-energy platform: Designed to hold petrol, hybrid, and EV drivetrains, that is the place quantity sellers just like the X5 and 5 Sequence will reside, providing BMW the flexibility to satisfy wildly totally different market calls for with a single mannequin household.
Neue Klasse EV platform: BMW’s future tech flagship. The NCO platform is kicking off with the simply introduced iX3 and the i3 sedan this spring. The Neue Klasse will ship lighter packaging, sooner charging, new battery chemistries, and the “Coronary heart of Pleasure” superbrain software program that defines BMW’s EV future.
How Core BMW Fashions Match
- 3 Sequence / X3: Each will cut up identities. Neue Klasse variations (NA0 i3 sedan/touring, NA5 iX3) launch from 2025–2026, whereas ICE equivalents (G50 3 Sequence, G45 X3) proceed till the mid-2030s. Clients within the EU and Asia will see EVs first, whereas petrol and hybrid variations stay important in markets just like the US and Center East.
- 5 Sequence / X5: Count on overlap right here too. The NC0 i5 is deliberate for 2030, whereas the next-gen X5 (G65, due 2026) will run via 2033 with each combustion and BEV variants, together with a deliberate hydrogen possibility.
- 7 Sequence / X7: The G70/i7 pairing already exhibits BMW’s twin technique. Future i7s (ND0, from 2029) will sit on Neue Klasse, whereas ICE-powered 7s and V8-driven X7s (G67, 2027–2034) will proceed in most markets.
- 8 Sequence: The following 8 Sequence (G75–G77) will carry ICE drivetrains till 2033, with Neue Klasse BEV variations (ND0-based i7 GT-style derivatives) coming in late 2020s and early 2030s.
BMW’s Smaller Choices
The large query right here is how BMW will cut up sure fashions throughout these three platforms. Entry-level crossovers just like the X1 and a couple of Sequence might turn out to be ICE-only, whereas others might go dual-path or EV-only relying on regional demand. Manufacturing plans we’ve seen (NB0 i1, NB5 iX1, NB8 i2) affirm Neue Klasse small automobiles are coming, however whether or not BMW maintains ICE X1s alongside them remains to be up for debate.
The Takeaway
Regardless of ICE persevering with “indefinitely”, BMW isn’t backing away from EVs. Neue Klasse is arguably the corporate’s most bold technical leap for the reason that Seventies. However Goller’s phrases clarify that BMW sees a future the place EVs and ICE automobiles run in parallel. For drivers, meaning the inline-six, the V8, and even a future M3 with a petroleum engine aren’t going wherever. For BMW, it ensures profitability throughout each international market, irrespective of how uneven the transition to electrical proves to be.
