At the Mobility Summit in Münich, BMW will unveil the Vision Neue Klasse (Vision New Class), which is believed to sit close to the production model and marks a new chapter in the brand’s history as it embodies its new generation of electric vehicles.
The platform will feature 800-volt technology for increased fast charging. It will first spawn a 3 Series type car and a compact SUV. The show occurs on the company headquarters’ doorsteps so that the IAA can be regarded as a home match.
BMW’s display in Münich focuses on electric, digital, and circular. And the car where it all comes together is the Vision Neue Klasse. The tag Vision means it remains a study, but it’s believed to resemble the final version very closely, which will start rolling off the assembly lines in BMW’s brand new plant in Debrecen, Hungary, in 2025. The Shenyang site in China will follow one year later.
‘Megaproject’
The Neue Klasse will be premiered on Saturday, the 2nd of September, to a select audience before it is displayed for the public on Tuesday, the 5th, when the mobility show officially opens. CEO of BMW Oliver Zipse has called the Neue Klasse a “megaproject that spans the entire company. It is about nothing less than the future of the BMW brand, the BMW Group, and our portfolio”.
Besides the 3-Series type car and the compact SUV, other world premieres for BMW are the PHEV versions of the new 5 Series, available with four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines. They will feature the latest BMW patented eDrive technology. The electric motor receives a pre-gearing stage, boosting the torque from 280 Nm to 450 Nm. This way, BMW can provide the power of a much larger unit on a more compact footprint.
New PHEVs
The zero-emission range for the 550e XDrive sedan is projected at 79-90 kilometers (according to WLTP), while the 530e sedan attains between 87 and 101 kilometers. Thanks to the compact lithium-ion battery (19.4 kWh) and its strategic positioning, the PHEVs equal the luggage space of their combustion-engined siblings or 520 liters. With charging power doubled compared to the previous generation, a full charge is possible in three hours at the fastest.
The Neue Klasse and new plug-in hybrids will be flanked by some recently released newcomers, like the i7 Protection – the first armored all-electric limousine in the world – and the X5 Hydrogen, which is undergoing further testing among targeted customer groups. The podium at BMW is completely electrified, with all the members of the i family present (i5, iX1, i4, iX and i7).
MINI and Motorrad
That’s also the case for the subbrand MINI, which will unveil the new fifth-generation MINI Cooper and Countryman. Key specifications have already leaked. The E versions get 135 kW of power, while the SE counts on 160 kW, with 40.7 and 54.2 kWh battery packs, respectively. The driving ranges are 300 kilometers for the E and 400 kilometers for the SE (WLTP). Production starts in November this year.
Lastly, BMW Motorrad is showcasing the CE 02 electric two-wheeler, unveiled at the beginning of summer. Aimed at urban mobility, the all-electric CE 02 slots between an e-scooter and an e-bike. There’s a version with a top speed of 95 km/hour, while the other is limited to 45 km/hour.
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