New SUV will be the first of a new generation of electric BMWs

​BMW has confirmed that a production version of the Neue Klasse X SUV will be the first of its next generation of electric cars, arriving in 2025.

Speaking exclusively to Electrifying at the Beijing Auto Show, Jochen Goller, BMW’s board member responsible for customer, brand and Sales, told us, “We are going to start with an SAV [Sports Activity Vehicle], the first car, which will come next year. So it'll be the high concept which you've seen and then followed by the flat concept.”

The flat concept that Goller refers to is the Neue Klasse saloon – unveiled at the Munich motor show last September – which will be the second next-generation model to launch. The SUV is very similar in size to the current BMW iX3 with the saloon being 3 Series-sized. There’s no word yet on what the new models will be called.

Goller also confirmed that both production cars are similar to the concepts that previewed them. “I would say in terms of proportion and in terms of features, they're very close,” he said. “So, for example, the panoramic vision [infotainment system], which you see is not a concept feature, it is a real feature. Of course, you always have [some differences] when you look at some doors and whatsoever. But in principle, when you will see the real car, I personally think it is quite close.”

When it comes to further models based on the Neue Klasse tech, BMW boss Oliver Zipse confirmed in Beijing that there would be four further Neue Klasse models launched before 2027, following the saloon and SUV.

Goller provided more hints on what to expect of the new range of cars. He said, “The Neue Klasse is more than just an architecture. And as Oliver also mentioned, it defines the design of cars. So what you will see is features of the Neue Klasse on the digital side, as well as some design features you'll see across the whole BMW range.”

That means that all BMWs, whether electric or powered by a combustion engine, will share features from the Neue Klasse concepts, as Goller went on to explain: “On the BMW side, one thing is the electric cars, but the other thing are the features of the cars which you already see. And they will, of course, come in all cars because we don't want to discriminate between ‘this is a combustion engine that looks like this, and this is basically an electric car’. No, we want to tell the customer, this is BMW and you choose your drivetrain. This is our philosophy. “

The electric tech in the Neue Klasse models features BMW’s latest battery know-how, expected to give an increase in range of around 20 per cent and be 30 per cent lighter, too.

However, the Neue Klasse technology will remain the preserve of BMW and won’t filter through to MINI or Rolls-Royce models. “Mini has now obviously a platform for electric cars, so therefore MINI is covered very well. And Rolls Royce is a different story; you saw with the Spectre that we already have an electric Rolls-Royce, which is on the Rolls-Royce architecture.”

Goller explained that all BMW vehicles will share features from the Neue Klasse concepts