BMW Neue Klasse EV gets futuristic design, 'skips a model generation'

The design of BMW’s first Neue Klasse all-electric vehicle is futuristic enough to “look like we skipped a model generation,” the automaker’s design chief, Adrian van Hooydonk, says.

BMW is previewing the EV with the Vision Neue Klasse concept at the IAA Mobility auto show in Munich.

The concept features styling that has been “pared down to the essentials,” BMW said in a statement on Saturday when it released images of the Vision Neue Klasse.

Classic BMW features such as the Hofmeister kink on the rear pillar, the kidney grille and the so-called shark nose reverse-angled front end are retained but updated to give a more progressive look.

The large windows, blocky body shape and swollen wheel arches help “create a new aesthetic,” BMW said.

The concept is “close to standard production” of the 3 Series-sized sedan due in 2025, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse told analysts on the company’s earnings call in July.

BMW will initially produce a midsize sedan and crossover on the Neue Klasse [German for new class] architecture. The cars will use BMW’s sixth-generation eDrive electric technology that the company says increases overall efficiency up to 25 percent compared to its current EVs.

Neue Klasse cars will use new cylindrical batteries said to give 20 percent more energy density than BMW's prismatic cells, helping boost driving range 30 percent.

The interiors avoid using chrome or leather to improve environmental credentials and sustainability.

Neue Klasse cars initially will be built at BMW’s new factory at Debrecen, Hungary, where the company says production will be completed without using fossil fuels.

Neue Klasse output will follow at BMW’s home plant in Munich starting in 2026 and in Shenyang, China the same year.

Production of cars using the new underpinnings will start in 2027 at BMW’s factory in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

The Neue Klasse platform is the “biggest investment in the company’s history,” BMW’s head of development, Frank Weber, said in the statement.

“We are not just writing the next chapter of BMW; we’re writing a whole new book,” he said.

The Vision Neue Klasse’s interior reduces operating controls to a minimum. Interaction with the EV is handled via the central display screen, steering wheel buttons and voice control.

Information will also be delivered by the BMW Panoramic Vision strip complementing the head-up display and running the length of the windscreen to include the passenger. The strip’s color changes based on the mode the driver selects.

A single bracked attaches the front seats to the floor, freeing up additional legroom in the rear compartment, which is split into two individual seats.

BMW will also introduce two new plug-in hybrid versions of the BMW 5-Series large sedan in Munich, while BMW’s Mini brand, is launching the second-generation Cooper electric hatchback and electric Countryman crossover.