The new BMW iX3 is the first model to wear the brand’s new Neue Klasse design language, and speaking to Autocar UK, design chief Adrian Van Hooydonk has said that this will now be rolled out across the entire line-up. This means BMW will majorly facelift its current electric and combustion model portfolios to reflect the new design, all of which is expected in the next couple of years.
- Neue Klasse design brings a simpler and cleaner look
- All existing EV and ICE cars to be updated with Neue Klasse design
- Future M performance cars will also get this new design
Neue Klasse design characterised by simplicity
BMW’s new design language is characterised by clean lines, the absence of chrome, reduction in the number of trim elements seen in the cars’s exterior and most notably, the shrinking of its grille. There are, in fact, two interpretations of the new illuminated kidney grille – an upright version for SUVs and a flat, wider version for sedans.
Speaking to Autocar India, Van Hooydonk admitted that the oversized grilles seen on current BMWs were largely to cater to the Chinese demography. However, going forward, the Neue Klasse design will bring about a wider and global appeal to BMW cars.
All new models will feature variations on the two kidney grilles, and Van Hooydonk said that while they would clearly be a part of the “same family”, each model would have “very different features and characteristics”.
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He added: “We want to give each of our products their own character, and that’s truer today than ever before, because each of our products will encounter different competitors in their segment, and you have to be very aware of it.
BMW will avoid a 'Russian doll' approach.
Van Hooydonk was also keen to point out that all cars will not be end up looking similar to each other despite the family resemblance.
“We have grown [our range] in the last couple of years and in the last decades, and the secret to that success is that we offer real choices to our customers. We offer a family resemblance, but it's not Russian dolls. We’re going to continue in that vein with this new family,” he said.
New design for future M performance cars
The Neue Klasse design language will also lend itself to future M performance cars. But despite the inherent simplicity, M cars would still be more expressive than the rest of range, says Van Hooydonk.
“It’s typical they are more expressive, because they are faster cars and more dynamic, and that is what they will express. But in those cars, there will be a certain restraint in the designs that we started years ago with the i3 and i8, and then continued with i4 and iX. What you see here is built upon all those steps, and now it's going to roll out over the entire portfolio,” he explained.
“If you do a very clean design it will probably last longer, and that's also good for our customers, because it's good for resale value; we’re also aiming to extend the life cycles of our product."
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