BMW prepares expansion of the 'Neue Klasse': "It was like skipping a generation"

BMW kicked off the 'Neue Klasse' with the new iX3, unveiled earlier this month. It represents a significant technological leap forward, applicable across the entire range.

In fact, according to British Autocar, the Bavarian manufacturer expects to launch 40 new or refreshed models in the next two years. A pace that Neue Klasse director Mike Reichelt says is necessary: "All the technology, everything in the iX3, is completely new. We'll apply this technology across the entire portfolio, and quickly . We've never done this before, but it's necessary when you look at technology like computing power and user interface."

The manager talks about "quantum leaps" with the 'Neue Klasse', so much so that this requires applying the significant advances to other models: " We have made so much progress that it is as if we skipped a generation of models , so we have to do it across the entire range", he highlighted to Autocar.

For models that are not new from the ground up, there will be no changes to the shapes, Mike Reicht clarified: " We will not change the body structure , but we will integrate the most relevant aspects of the 'Neue Klasse' : the design language, the Panoramic iDrive, the ADAS [advanced driver assistance systems] and all the digital things."