BMW
After several concepts during recent years the first Neue Klasse vehicle has landed in the form of a fresh iX3. What had been known only by its NA5 project code until a public premiere in September at the Munich IAA looks very similar to the latest X3, itself revealed back in June.
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The X3 and iX3 are however, quite different under their sheet metal, the EV being the first on the Neue Klasse platform. Those words are a cue to a family of cars with which BMW reinvented itself once before, commencing in 1962. Production of the EV began six weeks ago at Debrecen, a new plant in Hungary. San Luis Potosí in Mexico is also being retooled for additional build commencing in 2027. Expect a seven-year life cycle for this SAV (Sport Activity Vehicle) and, so, a facelift in 2029.
Next to arrive will be the 3 Series, including the electric i3. Sedans, both standard and L for China, plus a Touring, will arrive in 2026. The EV comes first and was previewed by a camouflaged models in September (see pic). Production should last until 2033 after facelifts for sedans and estates in 2030. The platform is NAx, an RWD and AWD matrix.
Next X1, X2, iX1 & iX2
Stepping back down a size, X1 and X2, along with their electric iX1 and iX2 derivatives, began to be introduced worldwide in 2022 and 2023. All four should be facelifted next year and then rolled out in Neue Klasse form, i.e. on a fresh platform, commencing in 2029.
As for the F70 1 Series hatchback, like its Mercedes A-Class rival, there will be an extended life cycle, likely enduring until 2030. Generation four, launched in 2024, is a facelift of F40, the prior model. It will probably have some minor exterior changes in 2027.
First model for NCAR NBx: a BMW or a Mini?
The eventual i1 (electric-only hatchback and sedan to succeed F70) will utilise the Neue Klasse NBx platform. Depending on what happens with EV demand in general, this or perhaps a Mini will be the first model for the presently in-development FWD & AWD architecture. There should also be an i2 electric crossover and coupé-crossover. Timings are not yet firm but could be anywhere from 2028 to 2030. Today’s 2 Series Active Tourer will die around the same time.
Now leapfrogging in size terms from the 1er and 2er over the new 3er, we come to the 5 Series/i5 and the future X5. The cars (G60, G61 and G68) were only introduced in 2024 so they will run until 2031 after facelifts in 2028. The i5 will probably receive a fresh battery and motors at the same time while engines will also be new, with more and updated electrification options.
BMW’s first series production FCEV
G65, the next X5, will be a big deal in many ways. Due to be revealed soon, not only will it come with petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric (iX5) drive but from 2028 there be a hydrogen variant. Both liquid fuel SAVs and EVs will use NDx, an evolution of today’s CLAR platform. Both models will be manufactured mainly in the USA though Beijing BMW will also make them, production lasting until around 2033 after facelifts in 2030.
What to do about the 7 Series and the even less popular i7? BMW will of course replace these cars when their scheduled life cycle comes to its end but sales are not strong. The combustion cars do UK in South Korea and Germany but both IC and EV are a hard sell for dealers in the USA and the PRC. Love it or loathe it styling is said to be a big factor.
As 7er generation eight isn’t due until 2029, the company has a few years yet to make up its mind about how to go about engineering successors. The answer could be simple: make the replacement look like the E32. This, generation two, gave the contemporary Mercedes S-Class a sales beating. It also remains a design classic in a way that no 7 Series has since matched. As for generation seven, it will be facelifted in 2026.
G67 and G74 – the next big SAVs
Now we come to the real profits powerhouse, the X7, and to a lesser extent, the XM. While the second of BMW’s full sized SAVs has yet to find more than just a small following, it will inevitably be a good money spinner. The company will more or less merge the successors, in that the next X7 (G67) will also be available as an iX7 and inevitably as a hybrid.
As the XM is solely a PHEV it might even be quietly discontinued in the months before the second generation X7 arrives in 2027. One year later comes G74, a Mercedes G-Class challenger. It too will be made in South Carolina and use the same evolution of Cluster Archiecture (CLAR). Some believe that NDx and ‘CLAR evo’ (non-official name) are one and the same.
NA4 succeeds G02 in 2026
Certain other niche models are also due to disappear, including the Z4 (build ends in March); 8 Series Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe; as well as the X4. A successor for the third of these will only be available as an iX4 (code: NA4). The petrol variants of the current G02 X4 were axed at the end of September, leaving only the 20d, 30d, and M40d. These three then went out of production in November.
Finally, not all minor models are to be phased out. Take the 4 Series as one example. While production of the current cars will be wound down in June 2028, build of an i4 Coupe and Convertible is due to start during the following month. Originally, there was no intention to offer petrol-powered variants but that has likely now changed. And the platform? NAx, the NCAR (i.e. Neue Klasse) architecture for medium-sized RWD/AWD vehicles.
Mini
The mostly electric future which had been carefully planned at its Munich-based HQ now looks very different. And there will surely be even more of a shift away from what was once an EVs-only strategy. BMW was wise enough to see that customers in the USA, China and Europe would prefer a choice of electric, electrified or liquid-only power and so has moved to offer more options.
When it comes to extra vehicles, there is still nothing official about a potential model to slot in above the Aceman and below the Countryman but we should expect just such a 4.2-4.3 m long SUV by the end of this decade.
A still-new three-model range
Mini’s existing line is very fresh, BMW having spent heavily on the brand in the early 2020s, so the next few years will mainly consist of model year changes such as engine tweaks and/or facelifts.
As a refresher of what’s what, the Cooper comes in two series, the combustion three-door hatchback, five-door hatchback and two-door convertible being an older series. By contrast the EV uses a different platform and comes solely as a three-door hatchback. They look largely the same but the electric car is easily identified by its flush door handles.
The next Coopers, Aceman & Countryman: when?
Presuming they continue to sell fairly well, BMW now seems set to keep manufacturing the petrol-powered cars in England until at least 2027, perhaps longer and it may give them a second facelift in about two years’ time. The EV would also have a slight restyle and all would then continue until 2030 at which point a new Cooper series with petrol hybrid and electric options would arrive.
The next size class up for the three-model Mini range is the Aceman, new in April 2024. It therefore would be due for a mid-life freshening in the second half of 2027. Perhaps a liquid fuel option, once unthinkable, might be added.
The second generation Aceman is scheduled to arrive in 2031. That would be 6-12 months after the debut of the next Countryman. This model should use BMW Group’s Neue Klasse NBx platform.
Rolls Royce
Thanks not only to what are already extremely high prices but the extras added to every car, Rolls-Royce enjoys significantly big margins, contributing nicely to BMW AG’s bottom line. Not bad for a division which sells fewer than 7,000 cars annually.
The present range consists of the Phantom, Ghost, Cullinan and Spectre. The biggest saloon was facelifted in 2022 and should be replaced in 2026 while the next Cullinan should arrive in 2027.
A new Ghost isn’t due until 2028 or 2029, and as the Spectre isn’t yet at the mid-point of its life cycle (facelift expected in 2026 or 2027) its eventual replacement is some five to six years away. There is a chance that an additional model, possibly a second SUV, could be added in 2029.
