Roughly half of BMW’s gross sales these days are represented by SUVs however the good ol’ sedan nonetheless has a future within the model’s lineup. It’s so necessary that the German luxurious model determined to preview the Neue Klasse household of next-generation electrical autos with a conceptual three-box saloon in 2023. BMW i Head of Design, Kai Langer, sat down and had a chat with Prime Gear journal in regards to the newly unveiled SUV equal, the Imaginative and prescient Neue Klasse X, earlier than discussing the sedan that preceded it.

Addressing the elephant within the room, Prime Gear’s Jason Barlow introduced up the automobile’s rear-end design with the unusually high-mounted taillights. Kai Langer rhetorically requested: “That was controversial, proper? We knew that this may be just like the factor. However we imagine that it is sensible, you realize, to incorporate it. I imply, I nonetheless imagine that’s the precise transfer.”

Langer explains the up-top taillights make sense as a result of they proceed the road of the gently sloped trunk lid to “comply with the general construction and kind and the logic.” Curiously, the BMW i Head of Design mentions that the positioning of the rear lighting clusters lowers manufacturing prices. Talking of which, the Imaginative and prescient Neue Klasse sedan is scheduled to hit the meeting line in 2026 on the Munich plant, presumably with the “i3” moniker.

We’ll probably have to attend till subsequent yr to see camouflaged prototypes present process testing and attempt to discover out whether or not the odd placement of the taillights will make it to manufacturing. Likelihood is the road-going mannequin received’t look all that completely different, for higher or worse. Opinion-splitting design apart, Langer believes the sedan nonetheless has a future in BMW’s lineup.

Whereas the 2 ideas painting a sedan and an SUV, these “Imaginative and prescient” showcars are a window right into a recent design language for BMW that can affect the entire lineup. Not simply EVs using on the namesake electrical platform but additionally typical fashions powered by inside combustion engines. Langer insists every mannequin line will proceed to have its personal character, however some design cues shall be shared throughout the portfolio to attain a cohesive look.

Supply: Prime Gear / YouTube