BMW Speed Setting the pace with the NEUE KLASSE

In 2021, a new project was launched with the NEUE KLASSE, not only introducing new models but also setting the course for a new way of working.

The BMW Group reconfigured processes and more closely integrated hardware, software and digitalisation. This demanded faster alignment, a clear target picture and the courage to question established practices. The goal was a structure that combines complex technologies into an integrated system.

The NEUE KLASSE is designed as a scalable architecture: a system comprising an electric drivetrain, a new electronics and software structure, and an approach to production capable of translating this system into a wide range of models.

The BMW Group shows a consistent approach to resource management. The NEUE KLASSE is designed to use less energy and fewer raw materials over a vehicle’s entire life cycle. For example, the new BMW iX3 50 xDrive* has a CO₂e footprint 34% smaller than its predecessor’s over the life cycle.

Achieving results like this requires action to be taken at every stage of the value chain, from the supply chain to production and finally to use. The concept of “design for circularity” and its three core principles apply right from the supply chain stage.

The first NEUE KLASSE vehicles are taking to the roads and setting the pace. Meanwhile, the Company is laying the groundwork for the next leap: Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising processes both in production and in development.

Humanoid robots are mostly taking on monotonous, physically demanding and safety-critical tasks in production. One example is AEON, a humanoid robot that the BMW Group, together with its software and sensor system partner Hexagon, is testing at its Leipzig plant. AEON has been acquiring practical experience in pilot operation at the Leipzig plant since December 2025, demonstrating how it can be integrated into the production environment.

AI is also having an impact in development, being used to assess and compare a wide range of variants in the early stages of the process. Agentic AI can generate technically and economically viable concepts in significantly less time.

No vision for what the future might look like would be complete without hydrogen. It offers a host of possible uses as an energy source, ranging from production to drivetrain technology. While the roll-out of battery-electric vehicles is well underway, the BMW Group is already investigating fuel cells. After all, different markets develop at different rates, and the infrastructure varies from market to market. That requires technology openness in terms of drivetrain types.

The new BMW X5 is an example of what that might look like. It will be available with five different drivetrains: battery electric, plug-in hybrid, petrol, diesel and fuel cell. Due for launch in 2028, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen will be the Company’s first series-production model to be powered by hydrogen.