- BMW’s first Neue Klasse EV will likely be a compact crossover badged as the iX3
- Production is due to start in late 2025 at plant in Hungary
- A compact sedan likely forming part of the next 3-Series family will follow in 2026
BMW announced on Wednesday that pre-production examples of its first Neue Klasse electric vehicles are now being assembled at the company’s newly constructed plant in Debrecen, Hungary.
The construction of pre-production vehicles is the start of the final preparation phase for the production of customer cars, BMW said. The customer vehicles will start rolling off the line at the Debrecen plant in late 2025, the automaker also confirmed. That timeline points to the vehicle reaching U.S. showrooms as a 2026 model.
Pre-production vehicles are typically used for crash tests, weather tests, and final road validation. Their production also provides an opportunity to iron out any snags on the production line before the first customer examples are built.
The first Neue Klasse EV will be a compact crossover that will likely be badged as the iX3, meaning it will form part of the X3 family. BMW previously sold an iX3 based on the previous-generation X3, though that electric crossover was built in China and never sold in the U.S.
Prototypes for the first Neue Klasse EV have been spotted and BMW also previewed the design with the Vision Neue Klasse X concept unveiled in March. It will be followed in 2026 by a compact sedan that will likely be badged as the i3. This new i3 will sit in the next-generation 3-Series family, and prototypes are also out testing. The sedan’s design was previewed by last year’s Vision Neue Klasse concept.
Unlike BMW’s current EVs, the Neue Klasse EVs will feature distinct styling to distinguish them from their gas and hybrid counterparts, though the differences won’t be substantial. There may also be some Neue Klasse EVs without gas and hybrid counterparts, though BMW hasn’t confirmed any.
Neue Klasse EVs will ride on a next-generation EV platform that promises improved power and efficiency, plus faster charging thanks to an 800-volt electrical system. BMW’s own drive and chassis control software should also ensure typical BMW handling characteristics.
Neue Klasse EVs will also benefit from a next-generation battery with cylindrical cells (instead of the current prismatic cell design BMW uses), and together with other improvements should result in a range improvement of 30% over BMW’s current EVs, the automaker has previously said.
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