At the reveal for the 2026 iX3, BMW gave us a sneak peek at its next electric model, the i3. Unlike the original i3 city car, this new i3 is very much an electric 3 Series and will ride on the same Neue Klasse EV platform as the iX3. It’s a big deal, and it’s coming next year.
BMW chairman Oliver Zipse said at the iX3 reveal that the new i3 will be the first new 3 Series variant, with a gas-powered model on a separate platform to follow. The current G20 3 Series debuted back in 2018, with a facelifted model arriving in 2022.
The Neue Klasse platform is BMW’s first 800-volt architecture. The US-spec iX3 50 xDrive should have 400 miles of range on the EPA test cycle, and it can charge up to 400 kilowatts, which translates to adding around 230 miles of range in 10 minutes. It uses BMW’s sixth-generation electric motors for a total of 463 horsepower and 473 pound-feet of torque.
The i3 should use a lot of the same hardware, though there will likely be a less-powerful, more-efficient, single-motor rear-drive variant. BMW will also give its electric 3 Series a similar interior, with a widescreen display at the base of the windshield replacing the gauge cluster and a dash-mounted touchscreen running BMW’s new Operating System X.
BMW already previewed the design of the new i3 with the Vision Neue Klasse concept of 2023. It’s tough to tell with the camouflage, but the i3 does look similar to the iX3, though it appears to be a simpler design. The i3 has a more prominent Hofmeister kink in the rear window, a nod to the original Neue Klasse sedans like the 2002.
The new i3 will spawn an M variant, too, though BMW will still make another gas-powered M3. In his remarks at the iX3 reveal, Zipse said that BMW will launch 40 new or updated models by the end of 2027, so things are going to be very busy in Munich.
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