BMW M goes nuclear: 30 new models in under three years

BMW M CEO Frank Van Meel has revealed the high-performance division has 30 new and updated releases scheduled for the next two and a half years, spread across petrol, plug-in hybrid and pure-electric models… but the manual transmission is on life support.

High-performance cars aren’t going anywhere, at least not from BMW.

BMW’s M Division CEO, Frank Van Meel, told Australian media: “We’re working on up to 30 new models that will come out in the next two and a half years, so we’re quite busy right now.”

This is in part due to the life cycle of many key BMW models, with a new-generation BMW X5 and X6 imminent, while a dedicated M version of the latest X3 is still yet to appear.

Next year, the first true electric M car will be launched, the iM3, but Van Meel has confirmed an internal combustion M3 will continue, along with M Performance variants of a new-generation 3 Series and 4 Series and many more.

M Performance models have been a huge contributor to the success of BMW’s M Division, which recorded its 14th consecutive year of record sales with more than 213,000 vehicles sold in 2025.

“The M Performance models try to bridge the gap between the high performance ones and the top regular BMWs,” explained Van Meel, “giving you more performance in regards to power output, to suspension setup, making it more direct, more sporty to drive, but not as track intense as the high performance [fully loaded M] ones.”

Unlike some of its competitors, BMW has also found success with pure-electric performance cars.

The i4 M50 was the biggest-selling M car between 2022-24 and Van Meel said it has made sense for many customers from an ecological and economic perspective.

“We saw with the i4 M50, or now M60, but also with the i5 M60, with the iX M70 and a lot of other M Performance vehicles that a lot of people who were looking into sportier cars found an answer with those M Performance vehicles and especially in countries with regulations where combustion engines are quite expensive.

“And let me just give you one example. In France you have to pay 18,000 Euros CO2 tax on a combustion engine M2.”

Van Meel admitted he isn’t sure how customers will respond to the forthcoming all-electric Neue Klasse M3, but said the time is now right for its introduction.

“What makes me so positive about the electric one is that timing is everything.

“Because timing is also about having the right technology available that you need to do a proper car.

“And we are convinced that what we are working on right now is exactly the technology everyone has been waiting for, or waiting for in a high-performance car.”

The iM3 will use four electric motors with a total power output rumoured to be in excess of 750kW, vehicle dynamics controlled by one central computer and a fake gearbox and sound à la the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N to improve driver engagement.

But while electrification is playing an increasing role at BMW M, recent regulatory changes have led to a renewed investment in internal combustion.

“[BMW has] a long tradition in six-cylinder inline engines, which makes them more or less iconic for us, and also with the V8 engines,” said Van Meel.

“We are planning to continue this because we have a big community worldwide, and also a lot of people that are maybe not ready yet or live in environments where it’s really difficult to charge the electric cars.

“As long there is demand from the markets, which currently there is a lot, we will keep it up.

“Of course, if there is no demand, because everyone falls inline with the electric one or the other way around, we will see that’s the direction we’re going to follow.

“The good news is we have both directions. We can just go on like this and have a broad portfolio and the right offer for everyone.”

BMW is currently updating both its S58 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder and S68 4.4-litre V8 engines to meet the latest EU7 regulations, though in the latter case this has led to a 30kW drop in output.

An increase in electrical power means that total system output remains at 535kW and the changes only affect cars under EU regulation.

“Currently, I don’t think there’s any further discussion about upcoming legislation,” said Van Meel, “but as soon as there will be, of course, we’re also looking into that and trying to figure out a way to continue the offering of our combustion engines.

“Because we don’t want to be forced to get out of the technology and also don’t want to be forced to get into a technology. We just want to do the cars that we love for the customers the way they lover our cars. If you wait for the regulations, it’s too late.”

The news isn’t so rosy when it comes to the manual gearbox.

While it is still quite popular in certain segments – about 50 per cent of M2s in the US are ordered with a manual – BMW’s current six-speed is limited to 550Nm, limiting performance improvements and making it unsuitable for the more focused CS models.

To remove these limitations would require a new gearbox at which point the business case gets very difficult.

“From an engineering standpoint, the manual doesn’t really make sense because it limits you in torque and also in fuel consumption,” said Van Meel.

“But from an emotional standpoint and customer standpoint, a lot of people still love manuals, so that’s why we kept them, and we intend to keep them as long as possible.

“It’s going to be quite difficult in the future to develop completely new gearboxes because the segment in the market is quite small, and the suppliers are not so keen on doing something like that.

“So we’re still happy with the manuals we have and we plan to keep them for the next couple of years, but in future, probably it’s going to be more difficult to keep the manuals alive, especially in the next decade.”

Van Meel also said that while he expects to do more limited-run specials like the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage and M8-based Skytop, there is nothing currently in the works in this regard.

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