by Brad Anderson
- BMW will launch over 40 new or facelifted vehicles worldwide by the end of 2027.
- Facelifts will focus on digital upgrades, not just styling tweaks or trim changes.
- Refreshed models will adopt Panoramic iDrive and powerful computing tech.
After years of waiting, BMW’s Neue Klasse era is finally right around the corner. The second-generation iX3 is the first model to arrive, and soon, it’ll be followed up by the new i3, the all-electric version of the 3-Series. Not only does the Neue Klasse bring a new design language, but it also adds advanced new technologies that’ll be introduced across the rest of the BMW family.
Read: These Next-Gen BMWs Will Update Faster Than Your iPhone
By the end of 2027, more than 40 new or updated BMW models will arrive, all sharing the same core computing systems as the iX3. Many will also adopt the brand’s new Panoramic iDrive setup. The company is calling the iX3’s suite of tech features a “quantum leap” in its evolution.
A Faster Digital Future
“Every technology, everything on the iX3 is all-new,” BMW Neue Klasse boss Mike Reichelt said in an interview with Autocar. “We will roll out this technology across the whole portfolio, and fast. We have never done this before, but it is necessary when you look at the technology such as the computing power and the user interface. There have been so many big jumps.”
Reichelt emphasized that these leaps are too significant to be confined to just one generation. “The quantum leaps in technology in the Neue Klasse are so big that if we don’t integrate this technology in the current portfolio, it will feel like an old portfolio. With the Neue Klasse, we’ve made so much progress it’s like we skipped a model generation, so we have to do it across the range,” he added.
Not Your Usual Facelifts
One of the biggest changes will be to BMW’s upcoming facelifted models. Ordinarily, the tech updates in a refreshed model are relatively minor, with the focus instead being on refining the aesthetics. However, Reichelt confirmed that its next generation of updated models will be much more complex than a traditional facelift.
“Traditionally we’ve had one mid-life update in a product cycle of seven to nine years, mostly design but a bit digital [too],” he said. “Today, every year we’re updating the digital side, so it’s really important to get that into the car. We won’t change the body structure [of existing models], but we will integrate the most relevant aspects of Neue Klasse: the design language, Panoramic iDrive, ADAS, all the digital things.”
