And the new BMW 3 Series would already be presented in four years' time. You can already guess the drivetrain.
An electric car comes into its own when it is designed from the ground up in such a way. At the moment it is still regularly the case that some EVs share their powertrain with a car that is also available as petrol or diesel. We call it a BMW iX3 or a MINI Electric. The result is an electric car that cannot get the most out of it, due to limitations in the body. After all, the design is mainly aimed at a conventional car. An engine under the hood, instead of batteries in the bottom of the car. Just to name one example.
The current generation BMW 3 Series (G20) is not that old yet. The sedan came on the market in 2018. In fact, a facelift is yet to come. But according to Autocar, the next generation 3 Series is already eager. This acceleration is of course due to the switch to electric. The new BMW 3 Series is designed with an electric powertrain as the starting point. And that is the crucial difference with the G20.
Which is also radically different. BMW would sell the new 3 Series alongside the current 3 Series. According to the source, the new 3 will be on the Neue Klasse platform, known internally as NK1. With its own appearance, there is enough to distinguish itself from the current 3 Series. We are already seeing the same thing happen with the 4 Series. You have the fully electric BMW i4, but also the 4 Series Gran Coupé. The German car manufacturer will soon also apply this concept to the 3 Series. They just can't use the name i3, it already exists.
The advantage of this strategy is that there will soon be a lot to choose from. Electric for those who wish, but also a petrol or diesel car. The latter will eventually be phased out, leaving the fully electric variant. But that will take a while.