BMW

BMW i1 2027: the electric successor to the 1 Series

According to Autocar, BMW is already hard at work developing two separate compact models, to be known as the i1 and i2. Both will serve as spiritual successors to the i3, BMW's car conceived as an electric car from the outset. While it may have looked a bit clunky, it became the second best-selling electric vehicle in the world, after the Nissan Leaf.

When BMW retired the i3 in July 2022, it had been in production for almost 9 years and over 250,000 vehicles had been delivered worldwide. Today, BMW sells the iX1 and iX2 as its smallest electric options. Still, both are retrofitted combustion engines, so they're nowhere near as cool as the i3, with its boxy shape and lightweight carbon-reinforced plastic polymer body. The new i1, expected to launch in 2027, will be an electric hatchback, the electric equivalent of the current BMW 1 Series. The taller i2 crossover will follow a year later, and sources say it will be available in two versions: a more practical, squarer body style and a coupe-like model, similar to the current iX2.

BMW's strategy is to offer customers affordable options within its product lineup, which currently launches in the European market with the iX1, starting at €44,205.

Don't confuse the NBx construction for the NAx, as the latter will underpin the upcoming i# sedan and iX3 crossover, and it is a rear-wheel-drive-biased proposal. The NDx platform is supposedly in the making and will become the foundation stone of larger premium models, whereas electric sports cars seem to be in the pipeline at BMW, and these will reportedly utilize the Zax platform.

Besides the i1, BMW is also understood to introduce an i2. As you can imagine, this model will be based on the same construction as the hatchback and sedan and will supposedly be offered in crossover and crossover coupe body styles. The lesser flavors are understood to make do with front-wheel drive, just like the future i1, and the better-equipped variants will feature all-wheel-drive.

Autonews