BMW is making ready to develop its electrical lineup with the launch of the i1, an all-new electrical hatchback based mostly on the Neue Klasse platform, as we reported in the past. Following current feedback from Bernd Körber, Senior Vice President of BMW Model and Product Administration, the model has made it clear that an electrical successor to the favored 1 Collection is essential for its future — notably in key European markets like Spain, Italy, and Greece, the place compact automobiles stay important to general gross sales.
Talking on the 2025 Shanghai Motor Present in an interview with AutoExpress, Körber emphasised the significance of staying within the smaller automotive phase, each to take care of quantity and to deliver youthful clients into the model. “It has by no means been a query that we step out of the smaller-car phase,” Körber mentioned. “When you’re a worldwide participant, you higher do issues in your house markets which are related.” Nonetheless, whereas Körber kept away from confirming the mannequin title, BMWBLOG has beforehand reported that the automotive is internally known as NB0 i1.
A Transfer Again to Rear-Wheel Drive
In a transfer that’s certain to thrill fans, we’ve additionally heard that the longer term i1 is not going to undertake a front-wheel drive format like at the moment’s 1 Collection. As a substitute, BMW plans to supply the electrical hatch with rear-wheel drive as customary, with all-wheel drive variations doubtless out there for higher-spec fashions. This alternative underlines BMW’s continued dedication to dynamic driving experiences, even because it shifts towards full electrification. When you recall, the primary 1 Collection hatchback began as a rear-wheel drive affair.
Whereas official energy outputs and battery specs are nonetheless underneath wraps, the i1 is anticipated to function BMW’s new sixth-generation (“Gen6”) battery expertise. These superior cylindrical battery cells will not be solely extra energy-dense but additionally considerably extra environment friendly than the present prismatic designs. Regardless of the area limitations inherent to a compact hatchback physique type, we imagine that BMW is concentrating on a variety of not less than 600 kilometers (round 373 miles) on the WLTP cycle — a determine made potential because of the Gen6 cells’ improved efficiency.
Begin Of Manufacturing
The i1 is scheduled to start manufacturing in late 2028, following carefully behind the arrival of the all-electric Neue Klasse 3 Collection successor. A second entry-level EV, the i2 — anticipated to take the type of a trendy Gran Coupe — will be a part of the lineup shortly after.
Within the meantime, the present third-generation 1 Collection (F40) will proceed in manufacturing till round 2027 or early 2028, providing a bridge between at the moment’s compact BMWs and the extra electrified future.
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