BMW on Thursday released further details about the tech going into its next-generation Neue Klasse electric vehicles, including new nuggets on motors and energy management.
The automaker will employ what it calls the Energy Master, a central control unit mounted on the battery pack that manages both low- and high-voltage electricity flow, controlling everything from the power supply for the motor (or motors) to onboard systems running on low voltage. Its hardware and software was developed completely in-house, BMW claims, adding that the unit will be over-the-air updatable like other vehicle systems.
BMW Vision Neue Klasse X concept
BMW also confirmed that it will use more compact, cost-efficient induction motors at the front wheels. That’s an about-face versus in the i4, i5, i7, and iX, which use special current-excited synchronous motors, or electrically excited synchronous motors (EESM), as BMW calls them. BMW is sticking with the EESM design for the rear wheels.
As BMW has noted multiple times in the past, the Neue Klasse will be built on an 800-volt platform, with a 30% boost in range and 30% faster charging. And this new family of EVs will switch to cylindrical batteries with a 20% boost in energy density, installed directly into the pack, which will itself reinforce the body structure.
Pre-production example of first BMW Neue Klasse electric vehicle at plant in Hungary
BMW has taken years to tease out all the technical changes that are due for these EVs, yet there remain technical details it hasn’t covered in releases. When it announced the switching of battery formats in 2022, BMW said that it might be able to cut battery costs by 50% by using LFP chemistry in some models; but it still hasn’t yet specified which Neue Klasse models might use that.
These models also don’t have official names or confirmed alphanumeric badging. Previewed by sedan and SUV concepts in 2023 and 2024, respectively, the Neue Klasse has been in pre-production since November, according to BMW. But that first Neue Klasse EV, now being built in Hungary, hasn’t yet been fully revealed either. For the U.S., vehicles are poised to be sourced from Mexico.