The 2027 BMW i3 was revealed this week as an all-new electric sedan, and the lineup is about to expand not only with additional powertrains but in addition one other body style.
BMW flashed up a shadowy teaser of an i3 Touring wagon on the i3 sedan’s global reveal, nonetheless, sources have told Autocar there’ll be no direct substitute for the present i4.
Related to the present combustion-powered 3 Series and 4 Series lineup, the i4 is a battery-powered mid-size five-door liftback and never a four-door sedan just like the latest i3. Nevertheless, given the i3 and i4 occupy the identical segment, the older nameplate might be retired.
Autocar reports word from sources that i4 production in Munich will end next 12 months. In some unspecified time in the future, the i3 Touring will enter production at the identical plant.
The shadowy teasers show a sleek wagon silhouette with similar tail-lights to the i3 sedan.
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Its introduction will give BMW two electric wagons, with the i3 Touring slotting in under the i5 Touring.
“While you look back on the last 20 years, you mostly had latest models coming in and old models phasing out,” BMW Group product boss Jochen Goller told Autocar regarding the i4’s departure.
“So I believe this is an element of the history of our industry. And what you’ll at all times see is the volumes of the present cars, on this case the i4, phasing out, after which [the new i3] clearly ramping up. But as with every model, that was already factored into our planning.”
While the present i4 is being phased out, Autocar reports BMW is working on a brand new 4 Series that may offer each combustion and electric power so the i4 will live to tell the tale in spirit.
It’s unclear whether it can proceed to supply the total range of current 4 Series body styles, which comprise two-door coupe and convertible options plus the Gran Coupe five-door liftback upon which the i4 is predicated.
Mr Goller told the UK publication that BMW’s strategy is to supply each of its models with a mixture of powertrains and the identical design no matter powertrain.
The present combustion-powered 3 Series, for instance, will receive an update so heavy it can be “mainly a brand new automotive”, BMW engineers told Autocar.
Meaning BMW will offer combustion-powered vehicles styled similarly to its latest Neue Klasse EVs. It already follows an identical strategy with its Mini brand, where the inner combustion-engined (ICE) and electric versions of the Cooper hatch are virtually indistinguishable despite being on different platforms.
Mini’s Countryman also looks essentially the identical in ICE or EV form, though each ride the identical platform. That’s just like lots of BMW’s existing EVs, including the previous-generation iX3 which shared its platform with the ICE X3 and had only minor aesthetic differences.
The brand new i3 shares the Neue Klasse platform with the brand new iX3 mid-size SUV, and has been revealed initially in dual-motor all-wheel drive 50 xDrive guise with 345kW of power and 645Nm of torque.
While BMW hasn’t specified battery capability or chemistry for the i3, the iX3 50 xDrive – which is predicated on the identical Neue Klasse EV platform and features the identical dual-motor powertrain with the identical outputs – employs a 108kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery.
The i3 will join the iX3 due on sale here later this 12 months. The sleeker shape of the sedan has resulted in a rise in range of 95km over its SUV sibling for as much as 900km of WLTP range.
The electrical sedan incorporates an 800V electrical architecture and a battery that may be charged at as much as 400kW on DC power, which can allow as much as 400km of range to be added in a claimed 10 minutes, and at as much as 22kW on AC power.
It also features bidirectional charging with vehicle-to-load (V2L), vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) functionality; local details on this capability might be announced “in the end”, says BMW Australia.
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
