![]() Notably, while SUVs account for a huge proportion of BMW’s global sales, the Vision Neue Klasse and i Vision Dee concepts have taken the form of saloons, because the firm believes “there is still a future for flat, low cars – especially the ”, according to Dukec. Similarly, the light clusters could show different colours and designs depending on which driving mode is selected. The ‘grille’ could also, it has been suggested, display notifications about the car’s charging status or even direction indicators. Meanwhile, the ‘grille’ panels are designed to host the many cameras and sensors needed for high-level driver assistance functions, although hidden behind the seemingly opaque bodywork for a cleaner look. “Light has helped us strengthen our identity in recent years,” explained Dukec, adding that BMW wants “to replace chrome with light”. The front end is described as a “single interaction area”, with the headlights programmed to display an animation when users approach the car. ![]() Not only does this promote a fresh, futuristic treatment, it also means Neue Klasse cars can be made with simpler tooling and fewer components. The Vision Neue Klasse is clearly an evolution of the outlandish i Vision Dee concept that BMW showed at CES 2023, drawing on that car’s sharp-angled silhouette (which Dukec refers to as a two-and-a-half-box shape, rather than a full three-box) but with wide-reaching refinements that paint it more obviously as a close preview of a production car.īMW has labelled it “clear, elegant, timeless”, highlighting features that will become hallmarks of the Neue Klasse line-up, including a broader, horizontal interpretation of the firm’s kidney grilles, expansive side windows, slimline LED light designs and a “monolithic” silhouette, which is, according to Dukec, “much cleaner in its surfacing and details” than those of recent BMW cars. “Our promise is that the Neue Klasse will do so many things differently but some things will stay the same.” “I believe the BMW brand will be a different brand once we’ve launched the Neue Klasse,” he told reporters. ![]() CEO Oliver Zipse pledged: "From SUV to sedan, we will have something for every customer."īMW design director Domagoj Dukec – who has been outspoken in recent years about his belief that the company’s designs must be at once striking and, to an extent, polarising – suggested that this change in approach will be no less than transformative for the German manufacturer. It has dubbed this ‘Neue Klasse’ as a reference to the family of brand-reshaping premium saloons and coupés that it launched in the 1960s.īMW will launch six Neue Klasse EVs in the space of 24 months, although not all of them will be based on the same platform because of the differing requirements of the various segments BMW seeks to cover. Now well on the way to achieving those goals with its current fleet of electric saloons and SUVs, BMW is shifting its focus to the launch of a radical new family of EVs. The Vision Neue Klasse concept gives the best look yet at BMW’s all-electric future, previewing a dramatic change in exterior and interior design direction alongside the introduction of highly advanced drivetrain technology.īy the end of 2023, BMW will have an electric car on sale in each of its core market segments, and it aims for more than a quarter of its global sales to be electric by 2025, rising to a third just a year later. Van Hooydonk hinted that the order in which the six EVs will be released will be dictated by “lifecycle mainly” but also “where we feel demand is strongest for change or technological update”. "Two years isn't a long period of time, so it will appear as if they have grown together a little more – but you will still recognise individual characters.” Now the change will come in a relatively short space of time, so it will feel like we turn the pages all at once. “We used to have 10-year cycles, often starting with the 7 Series and then trickling down, and then the last one would come 10 years after the first one. BMW i Vision Dee concept heralds dramatic rebirth for 3 SeriesĬurrent BMW models all feature distinct design identities, particularly with variations of the German brand's trademark kidney grille.Īsked if that approach would carry over to the six Neue Klasse cars, van Hooydonk told Autocar: “That’s a philosophy we will try to uphold.”īut he added: “Since they will come in such short succession, you will see a strong overlap, perhaps stronger than when you do a whole model generation in 10 years, which is what we used to do. ![]()
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