Following the 5 Series revamp, there will also be a new X5 and updated versions of the 2 Series, X2, 7 Series and X7.
Speaking to Autocar, product boss Bernd Körber clarified that Neue Klasse refers to “the next generation of all cars and all toolboxes when it comes to engine, digital, ADAS etc”.
He added: “We will launch the Neue Klasse on a BEV-purpose platform with iX3 and 3 Series, but then the rollout will be within three and a half years across the entire portfolio.”
So while the new iX3 and 3 Series will look radically different from the rest of the line-up initially, BMW will quickly implement a more uniform approach to styling and functionality.
According to BMW Group design boss Adrian van Hooydonk, this is because the new-era BMW models shouldn’t make the current cars appear like a previous generation.
“We will make sure that the form language that we are developing now – and starting this year at the IAA [Munich show] with the first of the Neue Klasse vehicles – will be rolled out over the entire product portfolio, leaving no car behind,” he said. “Of course, it would not be good for us or for our customers if there would be a new type of BMW and a ‘classic’ type of BMW. We’re going to change the look and feel of the BMW brand.”