Munich, Germany - This is the initial design concept for the iNext, quite literally the next generation of pure electric cars from BMW’s ‘i’ division.
At this stage it’s just a (partial) white outline on a blue background, but it actually tells us quite a lot about the car. It’s a hatch, longer and sleeker in profile than the current i3, but with distinct styling cues from that model clearly visible, especially in the lower edge of the glazed area.
Revealing the teaser image at Thursday’s annual general meeting of shareholders, management board chairman Harald Kruger said the iNext had already been greenlighted for production at BMW’s Dingolfing plant alongside the i4, starting in 2021, and would be the company’s new technology flagship, “incorporating all major strategic areas of innovation in a road-ready vehicle”.
Key technologies
“The iNext project is our building kit for the future,” he said. “For the first time, we are combining all key technologies for future mobility in one vehicle.”
The iNext, he said, would be fully electric, powered by fifth-generation battery technology giving it a range of about 700 kilometres, fully connected and would also offer a new level of automated driving. He also promised that this rendering would be followed up by a ‘vision vehicle’ - i.e. a close-to-production concept - before the end of 2018.