BMW plans to bring electric vehicles at a more affordable price by using a special platform. BMW will launch several types of electric cars which are expected to materialize in 2023.
BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said, BMW will not abandon its entry-level model in the transition to electric vehicles (EV). “We are not leaving the lower market segment,” he said from the greencarreports page, Saturday (12/11/2022).
Not only presenting an affordable price, BMW is also increasing the ability of the new electric car that is presented. The BMW i4 is an increase in size and price over the discontinued BMW i3.
Likewise, the BMW iX is positioned close to the SUV lineup, and the BMW i7 is an electric version of BMW's 7 Series flagship. On the other hand, BMW is currently making one of the most affordable EVs on the US market, namely the Mini Cooper.
The 2023 Mini Cooper SE is one of the five lowest-priced electric cars currently available in the US, with a base price of $35,075. However, this electric car has a range of 114 miles (183 km). Any future affordable BMW badge electric car will likely be taken from the special Neue Klasse platform.
This will mark a shift from BMW's current strategy of using a common platform for electric and internal combustion models, such as the CLAR platform which supports the i4 and i7, and is also used for the launch of the BMW i5 in 2023.
Zipse earlier this year clarified that the Neue Klasse will initially be nearly the size of the current BMW 3-Series, which has historically been BMW's best-selling model. This is no longer a true entry-level model, as the BMW 2-Series Gran Coupe is now positioned below it in the ranks of the US automaker.
BMW in September also confirmed a switch to cylindrical battery cells in the Neue Klasse model and the possibility that other electric cars will follow. The automaker hopes this format, already used by Tesla, Lucid, and Rivian, will unlock a range increase of up to 30%.
BMW's first Neue Klasse EV platform will debut in compact sedan and sporty SUV
