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The Neue Klasse BMW Group enters
a new era.

Page Overview

The Neue Klasse:
The BMW Group enters a new era.

The Neue Klasse is not just a new car. It represents the redefinition of the BMW brand and thereby the whole new model generation being launched with the new BMW iX3. The Neue Klasse is the logical dawn of a new era of individual mobility for the BMW Group. In production, in development, in factory planning, in the electric drivetrain, in the display and control/operation concept, in the typical BMW driving experience, in design: much is being rethought and done differently. The result is a visionary model generation, characterised by electrification, digitalisation, circularity, a new design language – and next-level driving pleasure. The Neue Klasse makes individual mobility more intelligent, more human and more responsible.

Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG
The Neue Klasse is our biggest future project and marks a huge leap in terms of technologies, driving experience and design. Practically everything about it is new. Our entire product range will benefit from the innovations of the Neue Klasse – regardless of the drive technology.
Oliver Zipse
Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG
Dr. Joachim Post, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development
With the Neue Klasse, we have crafted a technological masterpiece. The impressive synergy between a powerful engine and a rapid charging system is truly remarkable. The seamless integration of Panoramic iDrive with advanced driver assistance systems is consistently evident. With the 'Heart of Joy', we elevate the joy of driving to an exhilarating new level.
Dr. Joachim Post
Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development
Dr. Mike Reichelt, Head of Neue Klasse BMW
The launch of the Neue Klasse is a milestone for BMW – the dawn of a new era. We have made a bold, systematic leap forward with our new technology clusters and throughout the development process. The latest 800V Gen6 eDrive technology, the revolutionary BMW Panoramic iDrive, four superbrains with the Heart of Joy, and the new design language elevate the typical BMW Sheer Driving Pleasure to a whole new level. The new BMW iX3 is the spearhead of the Neue Klasse. This unique technology leap will be rolled out to the entire BMW portfolio by the end of 2027 – regardless of the drive type.
Dr. Mike Reichelt
Head of Neue Klasse BMW
Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design
The design of the Neue Klasse provides a very modern interpretation of what BMW has always stood for. With our new design language, the new BMW iX3 looks future-focused, modern and timeless – but above all, more BMW than ever.
Adrian van Hooydonk
Head of BMW Group Design

Road to Neue Klasse.

06/2025
03/2025
03/2024
09/2023
01/2023
06/2022
09/2021
03/2021
The prototype of the BMW iX3 50 xDrive drives on a country road.

June 2025: Testing the first model of the Neue Klasse.

Prototypes of the BMW iX3 50 xDrive are made available to the international motoring press for test drives in Miramas, southern France, in June 2025. With the new BMW iX3, the BMW Group’s revolutionary technology kit enters production for the first time, with the clear goal of raising typical BMW driving pleasure to a totally new level. All future BMW models with all drive system types will benefit from the innovations of the Neue Klasse.

While driving the prototypes, the journalists were impressed by the visionary technologies on board. The sixth-generation (Gen6) fully electric drive system with 800V technology and cylindrical battery cells with 20% higher energy density achieves a range of up to 805 km (500 miles, WLTP). A maximum charging rate of 400 kW enables an additional 372 km (231 miles) of range (WLTP) in just 10 minutes of charging. The revolutionary BMW Panoramic iDrive display and operating concept ensures perfect driver focus, while the Heart of Joy superbrain in combination with the BMW Dynamic Performance Control software stack unlocks driving dynamics potential for electric drive systems on a whole new level.

Read more about the milestones on the road to the Neue Klasse:

BMW Neue Klasse concept car, an electric car with modern design and advanced technology for sustainable mobility.

March 2025: Four superbrains in the Neue Klasse.

The BMW Group is the first automotive manufacturer to launch a completely newly developed digital nervous system for all drive variants and vehicle segments. It is more intelligent, more powerful and more efficient – and will be used for the first time in the Neue Klasse models. Four high-power computers, also called “superbrains”, pool the processing power for the most important customer functions of infotainment, automated driving and driving dynamics, as well as basic functions such as vehicle access, climate and comfort. The four superbrains offer more than 20 times the processing power of the current vehicle generation and their performance is designed for future software and function updates, including experiential AI features. One of the integral components of the digital nervous system is the radically simplified wiring harness, which has 600 metres less wiring and is 30% lighter than the previous generation.

BMW Vision Neue Klasse X from the side

March 2024: BMW Vision Neue Klasse X – a new era.

The BMW Vision Neue Klasse X provides a very specific insight into the Sports Activity Vehicle of the future. It is where aesthetics, technology and sustainability merge with the philosophy of the Neue Klasse. The refined human-vehicle interaction is created by the next generation of BMW iDrive. This intuitive digital user experience consists of the newly designed steering wheel with multifunction buttons, the Central Display with intuitive touch function, the enhanced voice control of the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant, BMW Panoramic Vision and the 3D Head-Up Display.

The BMW Vision Neue Klasse X impresses with a clear design language. A small number of precise lines form the distinctive appearance. On the other hand, there are large, voluminous surfaces that create an emotional contrast. The BMW Vision Neue Klasse X demonstrates the future brand appearance of BMW X models. The reinterpretation of the characteristic four-eyed face and the BMW kidney grille as a three-dimensional sculpture with backlit contours lend the front a strong presence.

BMW Vision Neue Klasse

September 2023: BMW Vision Neue Klasse – a foretaste.

The BMW Group presents the BMW Vision Neue Klasse. The Vision Vehicle is a sporty sedan and gives an exciting foretaste of the next generation of these vehicles from the core BMW brand. With the BMW Vision Neue Klasse, the BMW Group combines technologies from the key areas of electrification, digitalisation and circularity. The Vision Vehicle represents the full spectrum of innovations with which the BMW Group demonstrates its future viability – in a revolutionary design that will shape the design language of all future BMW models from 2025.

BMW i Vision Dee

January 2023: BMW i Vision Dee & the digital future.

With the Vision Vehicle BMW i Vision Dee, the BMW Group shows how digitality and operation focused on the needs of passengers could feel in the future. The futuristic vision of a midsize sedan points far into the future and emphasises the overriding importance of digitalisation for future product generations. The name “Dee” stands for digital emotional experience – an even more intense relationship between people and cars in the future. The future digital functions merge the virtual experience with real driving pleasure.

This includes the enhanced BMW Head-Up Display, the development of which the BMW Group has been advancing for more than 20 years. The future digital functions go far beyond the extent of voice control and driver assistance systems with which we are familiar at present. In the BMW i Vision Dee, the entire width of the windscreen becomes a projection screen. This creates a large-scale display experience and provides an insight into the next generation of BMW Group vehicles.

In the new BMW iX3, this revolutionary Head-Up Display across the full width of the windscreen enters production in 2025. The technology, called BMW Panoramic Vision, guarantees user-friendly, intuitive use – initially in the Neue Klasse and in the future in every BMW vehicle segment and with every drive concept.

Comprehensive change for the Neue Klasse

June 2022: Comprehensive change for the Neue Klasse.

With the Neue Klasse, the BMW Group is achieving a radical technological leap. The basis is a vehicle architecture uncompromisingly focused on electric drives and the latest generation of technology clusters. 

With the Neue Klasse, the BMW Group also combines the implementation of a visionary strategy for the automotive production of the future. On 1 June 2022, the foundation stone for the plant in Debrecen, Hungary is laid – a groundbreaking facility that is the perfect embodiment of the strategic production objectives: efficient, precise and flexible, driven by data science and artificial intelligence. The name BMW iFACTORY reflects a guiding principle that will be implemented in all BMW Group plants worldwide in the future.

BMW is also setting new standards in purchasing: when awarding contracts, CO2 emissions and the percentage of secondary materials are fixed criteria in decision-making – integral elements in the process rather than added extras.

BMW i Vision Circular

September 2021: BMW i Vision Circular – the circular future.

At the IAA Mobility 2021, the BMW Group shows the BMW i Vision Circular – a vision of how to design a vehicle consistently in line with circular economy principles and using recycled secondary materials (“secondary first”). The fully electric Vision Vehicle is the first car in the world to be made entirely from recycled materials and is itself completely recyclable. It impressively demonstrates how comprehensively and extensively the BMW Group is adopting circular economy thinking.

The Neue Klasse is developed with the mindset of the BMW i Vision Circular and emphasises that the BMW Group consistently considers resource efficiency across the entire life cycle of its vehicles: from procurement of raw materials and material usage in production via the use phase to vehicle recycling.

Neue Klasse announced for 2025

March 2021: Neue Klasse announced for 2025.

BMW already reinvented itself at the start of the 1960s: With the presentation of the BMW 1500 at the IAA 1961 show, the Neue Klasse reflected a fresh zeitgeist – young, dynamic and progressive. The compact sedan in a sporty three-box design made such a huge impression around the world that demand far exceeded production capacities. The associated changes in almost all areas of the company laid the foundations for the BMW brand as we know it today.

After many decades of repeatedly demonstrating its innovative strength, the BMW Group announces another quantum leap in mid-2021. The fact that BMW is picking up the name “Neue Klasse” again for the launch of this new model generation is a clear signal of its relevance for the future.

An exciting journey: the developing of the Neue Klasse.

The new BMW iX3: the first Neue Klasse model.

BMW iX3
A fully electric SAV.

The BMW iX3, the first model of the new vehicle generation, brings the pioneering technology innovations into series production for the first time. The sixth-generation BMW eDrive powertrain sets standards in efficiency and range, BMW Panoramic iDrive elevates intuitive operation and driver focus to a new level, the Heart of Joy drivetrain and driving dynamics management enables unmatched dynamism and precision, and the new design language is reduced, characterful and timeless.

 BMW iX3: A fully electric SAV
805
Up to
0
km of electric range (WLTP)*
Enabled by 800V technology, cylindrical battery cells with 20% higher energy density and numerous efficiency technologies.
400
Maximum charging rate of
0
kilowatts*
A maximum charging rate of 400 kW enables 372 km (231 miles) of range to be added in just 10 minutes of charging.

* BMW iX3 50 xDrive: WLTP energy consumption combined: 17,9 - 15,1 kWh/100 km; WLTP CO2 emissions combined: 0 g/km; CO2-class: A; WLTP electric range: 679-805 km.

The Neue Klasse Technologies.

Digital
BMW Panoramic iDrive.

The new BMW Panoramic iDrive with the BMW Operating System X.
BMW Panoramic iDrive
The new BMW Panoramic iDrive with the BMW Operating System X.

Gen6
BMW Technology.

The sixth-generation fully electric drive system enables a technological leap in energy density, charging speed & range.
The prototype of the BMW iX3 50 xDrive drives on a country road.
The sixth-generation fully electric drive system enables a technological leap in energy density, charging speed & range.

Supercomputer
Heart of Joy.

The Heart of Joy is the central control unit for drivetrain and driving dynamics management in the Neue Klasse.
The Heart of Joy is the central control unit for drivetrain and driving dynamics management in the Neue Klasse
The Heart of Joy is the central control unit for drivetrain and driving dynamics management in the Neue Klasse.

The Neue Klasse within the Company.

Company

BMW Group Keynote:
World Premiere of the new BMW iX3.

Experience the world premiere of the new BMW iX3, the first model of the Neue Klasse, at the IAA Mobility 2025 in Munich.

A group of six people stands beside a blue BMW iX3 on stage. The background displays the text 'THE FIRST OF A NEW ERA.'
BMW Neue Klasse concept vehicle, an electric car with modern design and advanced technology for sustainable mobility.
Innovation

Four “Superbrains“
for the Neue Klasse.

Smarter, more efficient, more powerful: The BMW Group presents an innovative combination of soft- and hardware for the Neue Klasse. Find out more about its four superbrains.

Production

BMW iFACTORY:
The target image of vehicle production.

BMW Group production is above all one thing: future-oriented. With the BMW iFactory, automobile production is being reimagined – state-of-the-art technology paired with sustainable strategic orientation serves as the recipe for success. From the new site in Debrecen to the main plant in Munich: the BMW Group transforms modern mobility plants. 

BMW iFACTORY: a new way of vehicle production.
Sustainable materials: Fishing nets/ropes, shredded fishing nets/ropes, granulate made from 100 percent fishing nets/ropes, compounds, PET bottles, PET flakes, granulate made from 100% PET bottles, thread
Sustainability

A Pioneer in
Holistic Product Sustainability.

The BMW iX3 sets standards in terms of product sustainability across its lifecycle – with a focus on decarbonisation and resource conservation.

With the BMW iX3, we have been able to reduce CO₂e emissions from the supply chain by 35 percent. We did it by using renewable energy and around one-third secondary materials, but also through product and process innovations. The Gen6 battery cells in the high-voltage battery, for example, comprise 50 percent secondary cobalt, lithium and nickel. The entire vehicle was systematically developed according to the principle of „Design for Circularity“.

Innovation

Efficient round cell batteries
for more range and faster charging.

The BMW Group has set up corresponding centres of excellence to rapidly and comprehensively develop battery cells and electric drive technology for the Neue Klasse even further. At the end of 2022, the competence center for battery cell production in Parsdorf near Munich has started its commissioning. Here, more than 80 experts will soon be researching the near-series production of lithium-ion battery cells. For large-scale production of the round cells developed specifically for the Neue Klasse, the BMW Group currently contracted five battery cell factories with partners worldwide with a total annual capacity of 70 gigawatt hours.

Efficient round cell batteries for greater range and faster charging.