BMW is making moves. We know the Neue Klasse vehicles are coming, but that’s a relatively small portion of the company’s near-term plan to revamp its lineup. At its 2025 Annual Conference, BMW Group CEO Oliver Zipse announced plans to launch over 40 new or updated models in the next two years.
It all begins in September with the new iX3. Standing alongside a camouflaged prototype, Zipse confirmed that the electric SUV will be the first Neue Klasse model to go into production.
Photo by: BMW
“What is still hidden under camouflage foil here will be unveiled at the IAA Mobility in Munich in early September,” he said. “There we will present the production model that will be available to our customers.
I can already reveal one key detail to you today: this BMW will be released onto the market as the BMW iX3. This is how we continue the success story of the first all-electric BMW X model that has won over BMW fans worldwide since 2020.”
It’s important to note that BMW Group also includes Mini and Rolls-Royce, so not everything in that 40-plus vehicle blitz will wear a BMW badge. But BMW is certainly the volume brand, accounting for 2.2 million of the group’s 2.4 million global sales in 2024. And the Neue Klasse lineup with its radically different styling compared to current models will play a major role in the company’s future.
“Never before in the history of BMW have we invested so extensively in our future,” said Walter Mertl, BMW Group chief financial officer. “Investment reached its highest level in 2024, as planned. This underlines the durability of our strategy—and how consistently we are implementing it.”
BMW’s push comes at a difficult time for pretty much every automaker outside of China. Instability in the United States along with the rapid expansion of Chinese brands is causing quite a bit of chaos. These are the two largest automotive markets in the world; China’s domestic industry has taken a big slice of market share in the country. Meanwhile in the US, President Trump’s daily mood swings on big tariffs make it virtually impossible to establish a solid game plan.
And then there’s the question of future products. BMW’s EV sales are actually up, rising 13.5 percent globally in 2024. But trends show consumers aren’t ready to fully commit to EVs. To that end, BMW is also investing in new combustion engines that, in theory, can meet tough European emission regulations.
To say there’s a lot on the table is an understatement, and with BMW profits down over 33 percent last year, the stakes are certainly high. But it seems BMW is going all-in.
“We are taking a huge leap forward with our new technology clusters—achieving maximum scalability, increasing the level of innovation and enhancing customer benefits,” said Zipse. “We do not differentiate between segments or drivetrain technologies—we provide every customer with the latest technology.”
12
Read the full article here
