BMW will launch a new electric vehicle architecture, (New Class), in 2025, based on which all BMW-branded cars will be built. The platform is fully electric, but will also support cars that use gasoline and diesel internal combustion engines, including plug-in hybrids.
The architecture will provide rear wheel drive as a standard, or optionally add front wheel drive to all-wheel drive. Over time, New Class will gradually replace BMW's two current model architectures: UKL and CLAR.
The UKL small platform is for BMW compact cars and Mini models and supports front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles. The platform was officially launched in 2014 with a Mini hatchback. The CLAR large platform supports rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive for other BMW models and was officially launched in 2015 with a 7-series sedan.
BMW plans to make pure electric cars account for at least 50 per cent of its global sales by 2030, while all models will be available in pure electric versions, and the new electric vehicle architecture, New Class, will be a core pillar of the plan. Before the new architecture is launched, its existing architecture will allow the company to offer at least one all-electric model in 90% of the existing market by 2023.
Frank Weber, BMW's technical director, said at a media round table that BMW had learned a lot about how to expand its architecture since the launch of the first-generation compact 3-series sedan in 2004. Weber said, for example, "We can expand from the 2-series coupe to the X7 on the basis of the existing CLAR platform." Weber said BMW adopted the same production principles for the new model architecture, which would apply to all BMW product portfolios.
New architecture design
BMW points out that the new architecture will be aerodynamically designed for a different proportion of electric vehicles than in the past, including more spacious interiors. It will also have a new high-voltage battery concept and improved battery design, and an electric transmission system based on hydrogen fuel cell is also an option.
The platform will also have a "technology stack" that can be adapted to different regions, allowing vehicle operating systems to be customized to meet the different needs of the world's major markets and digital ecosystems. The technology stack will also allow continuous upgrades to ensure that the vehicle operating system is up to date.
The "digital first" approach integrated into the architecture will enable customers to book and configure features throughout the car lifecycle. BMW says this will account for a sizeable share of its future revenue.
BMW has not disclosed what the smallest car based on the architecture might be, and the next BMW 1-Series may switch to this architecture that supports rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, and the current version of the 1-Series does not have a rear-wheel drive version.
The Chinese route of Mini
Weber said that future Mini models will adopt an architecture focused on electric vehicles, which will be jointly developed with Chinese joint venture partner Great Wall Motor.
Mini currently produces a battery-powered Mini hatchback at its plant in Oxford, England, which uses a shorter UKL-1 architecture. Mini Countryman's successor will be available in pure electric and internal combustion engine versions. Starting in 2023, the car will be produced at the BMW plant in Leipzig, Germany.
BMW said that the future Mini all-electric car will also be produced in China together with Great Wall Motor, starting in 2023. The next generation of Mini Countryman will be based on a new automotive architecture developed with the Great Wall.
Oliver Zipse, BMW's chief executive, confirmed earlier reports that Mini would sell only battery-powered cars by early 2030, with the last Mini with an internal combustion engine launched in 2025.
In November 2019, BMW and Great Wall announced the formation of a 50-50 joint venture called Beamcar. The joint venture will build a new plant with an initial annual capacity of up to 160000 vehicles and is expected to start operation by the end of 2022. In addition, BMW is working with its long-time partner brilliance in China to produce cars, including the electric iX3, which is exported to the world, including Europe and the United States.
