Pictured here, BMW recently launched the i3 Sedan exclusively in China where it’s locally made. The EV doesn’t have anything in common with the namesake hatchback that will go out of production next month. It’s based on the long-wheelbase 3 Series Li available in the People’s Republic and rides on the same CLAR platform as the combustion-engined versions sold globally.
Plans are in motion for yet another type of i3, one that will ride on the Neue Klasse platform. Trustworthy BMW insider ynguldyn from the Bimmer Post forums claims to be in the know about the zero-emissions sedan. It’s apparently codenamed NA0 and is going to be assembled for the North American region at the San Luis Potosi factory.
This is where the report gets truly interesting as BMW is allegedly cooking up a more practical i3 Touring as well. Believed to be codenamed NA1, the long-roof EV is said to be manufactured at the same SLP where the 2 Series Coupe (including the upcoming M2) and 3 Series Sedan are being put together. The electric NE-based duo is expected to enter production in 2027.
The same insider familiar with BMW’s agenda believes production of the Neue Klasse-based, next-generation iX3 has also been allocated to the San Luis Potosi Plant in Mexico and it too will be made from 2027 for the North American region. There’s still going to be a conventionally powered X3 assembled in Spartanburg, with the next-gen model believed to carry the “G45” codename.
As previously mentioned, our own sources have told us that BMW will introduce a larger i5 Touring as early as 2024, so about a year after the already confirmed i5 Sedan. It seems that the German luxury brand is dedicating more of its engineering efforts to wagons considering the M3 Touring was just revealed. Not only that, but there’s also some juicy gossip about the M5 Touring coming back in late 2024 with a plug-in hybrid V8 shared with the upcoming XM.
Source: Bimmer Post
