At its Capital Market Day 2026, the BMW Group provided deep insights into its corporate strategy. Among other announcements, the Munich-based automaker said it will unveil the all-electric iX4 later this year and plans to launch an electric compact car based on the Neue Klasse platform the year after next. The model will likely be called the BMW i1.

Details about BMW’s new all-electric entry-level model remain scarce. During the event, the company merely stated that the BMW Group aims to “strategically expand the high-volume entry segment with another all-electric model of the Neue Klasse in 2028″, with a focus on the European market. This means a compact model will, for the first time, benefit from ‘Neue Klasse’ innovations.

Speculation suggests this could be the BMW i1, internally referred to as NB0, as reported by the BMW-focused blog ‘Bimmer Today’. Indeed, as early as 2024, media reports emerged claiming BMW was planning two electric compact models, the i1 and i2. As the British car publication “Autocar” wrote at the time, the i1 could be offered as a compact hatchback or a compact saloon, depending on the market. However, no further details about the body style have been confirmed to date.

iX4 later this year

Following the rollout of the Neue Klasse platform’s technologies – first with the all-electric SUV iX3 and, more recently, with the all-electric saloon i3 – a presentation at the Capital Market Day revealed that the all-electric iX4 will also be unveiled later this year.

This is expected to be an electric SUV coupé resembling the iX3, and it will likely also be produced in Debrecen, Hungary. The previous combustion-engine X3 similarly had an SUV coupé variant called the X4.

At the same time, BMW emphasizes that the Neue Klasse offers “competitive technology across the entire portfolio and all drivetrain types,” meaning that at least some components will also be used in hybrid and combustion-engine vehicles.