How will the Neue Klasse sit with already established BMW ‘I’ electric models – are we drawing a line under those and moving forward with these new models?
Reichelt couldn’t tell us what the future for BMW’s ‘I’ EV sub brand would look like – but he was keen to talk about how Neue Klasse sits within the brand. He said: “I want to stress, it is not an isolated project like project ‘i’ – it will not be a sub brand.”
He went on to tell us that BMW has been able to pull all the experience from the ‘i’ sub brand for Neue Klasse.
He said: “Yes, we used all knowledge and the lessons learnt from all ‘i’ models – starting with the i3 through to the current EV generation.
“It is the chance to start from scratch, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity that you have the chance to integrate all the knowledge, lessons learnt and technology into this project.
“Project ‘i’ was only one car, now we must develop the next-generation of BMW full-electric vehicles and it’s important that we have a scalable, flexible platform.”
BMW has made some bold claims about Neue Klasse technology, but we asked Reichelt if he was worried about whether current infrastructure would be sufficient, or if it needed to be more developed for this new range of cars?
He said: “Normally you can use the latest charging column technology, with 800W charging. To reduce charging times by 30%, and to get the best range, we’ve got 20% energy density, more efficiency, and the flexibility of the Energy Module and all with perfect integration.
“We can also charge at 400W, but inside the car we have 800W technology.”
We went on to talk about vehicle to grid technology, about which Reichelt said: “We’re prepared for bi-directional charging. It is not only a question of the car, but it is also a question of the infrastructure.”
He also gave us the best indication yet that one of these new Neue Klasse models would be a Touring estate. “This is important to the European market, we can’t confirm this today, but look at our current model history,” he said with a smile.
We went on to ask Reichelt if driving dynamics would still be key for future Neue Klasse models.
He said: “Neue Klasse will deliver the next level of driving experience. Yes, every BMW BEV will be dynamic, but that’s not the question. It will be down to the positioning of driving dynamics in the future.”
