BMW is planning to rethink its car nomenclature. According to an online forum, the German carmaker is looking at dropping the ‘i’ suffix on its petrol cars. The move comes cose on the heels of the car maker’s decision to transition to all-electric in the next decade.
How will the upcoming BMW cars be named?
New BMW models starting from the 2024 model year will get this new naming system. The first cars to get the updated nomenclature include the new 1 Series and the X3. Both these models will enter into production by July-Aug 2024.
BMW 1 Series details
The new 1 Series is an all-new generation model. Internally codenamed as F70, the updated 1 Series will first be offered in 118 and M135 trims. BMW is likely to also offer the 118d and 120d diesel powertrains. Do note that the diesels models will continue to get the letter d at the end. Further, the new 1 Series will skip the LCI update and straight away go for the new generation.
BMW X3 : More details
Meanwhile, the new X3 or the G45 will come with a slew of petrol engines. These include the X3 20, X3 20 Xdrive, X3 30 xDrive and the top of the line X3 M50 xDrive. The latter is expected to be more powerful than the current M40i trims. Fingers crossed that BMW will offer an inline-six option. There is no hint of the M40d, which could mean that BMW is not expecting to refresh the high performance diesel trim.
Apart from the regular X3, BMW is also working on a proper X3 M SUV. This has an internal codename of G97. It is also likely to spawn an all-electric iX3 SUV as well. However, the new all-electric SUV will probably be based on an all-new platform and not the existing CLAR underpinnings.
Also Read – BMW reveals new i5 electric sedan.