BMW Pledges an Affordable Neue Klasse EV by 2028, With a Flagship Gas SUV for America

BMW has committed to adding a third model to its Neue Klasse family: a lower-priced electric car scheduled to arrive in 2028. The vehicle, which insiders expect to wear the i1 badge, will be positioned beneath the existing battery-powered Mini Cooper and the forthcoming iX1 crossover in BMW’s European lineup.

Unlike the bigger i3 sedan and iX3 SUV that anchor the new platform, the entry model is expected to ride on a shortened version of the same architecture. That means rear-wheel drive as the likely default layout, though a two-motor variant hasn’t been ruled out. Sources cited by BMW Blog say the project carries the internal code NB0, and that it will share little beneath the sheet metal with the current front-wheel-drive 1 Series. That combustion hatchback is expected to remain on sale into the early 2030s, giving BMW two distinct entry points with entirely different drivetrains.

With a smaller footprint comes a smaller battery. The i3 offers packs of 82.8 or 108.7 kilowatt-hours with charging speeds reaching 300 to 400 kilowatts, and the i1 will almost certainly sit below those figures. The trade-off is weight: a lighter body should stretch whatever capacity it does carry further, keeping everyday range within reach even if peak charging lags behind its pricier sibling.

BMW has made clear the car is aimed at Europe, where demand for attainable electric hatchbacks keeps climbing, so a U.S. debut looks unlikely. Stateside, the company is instead evaluating a high-end gasoline SUV that would slot above the X7. Both moves fit a broader effort to lift margins toward 10% by the start of the next decade, an initiative that also involves trimming staff and leaning harder on artificial intelligence across its operations.