BMW to launch new sports cars and halos

BMW will finish renewing its highest-volume models before turning its attention to launching future sports cars, and other niche “brand shaper” models. While new low-volume halo models are on the horizon, the brand needs to recoup return on investment from its costly Neue Klasse platform development first.

While BMW has made clear new performance cars are on the horizon, it will first concentrate its resources on launching new versions of its core range equipped with its Neue Klasse technologies.

“For us, the middle of the brand is most important,” Neue Klasse boss Mike Reichelt said.

“The best way is to start in the middle of the brand, and not on the boundaries of the portfolio.”

Reichelt told carsales the decision to prioritise the iX3 SUV and i3 passenger car relates to generating a strong early return on investment on the huge spend that has gone into preparing the Neue Klasse platform.

“For us, it was really important to start in the mid-size class because there is the [sales] volume. To scale the new technology and architecture, you need volume,” he said.

While BMW hasn’t revealed the true cost of developing the ground-up Neue Klasse architecture, official disclosures show company spent big: 8.3 billion euros (A$14 billion) on R&D in 2025 alone, and 3 billion euros (A$5 billion) on preparing plants in Hungary and Austria for the iX3 and sixth-generation battery production. 

That expenditure will need to be recouped through strong sales, which helps explain the launch cadence for the platform.

The iX3 has gone on sale in Europe and will launch in Australia in mid-2026, followed by the i3 in early 2027, while spy shots reveal a combustion 3 Series and new X5 are in testing.

BMW will concentrate investment on models that matter most to its bottom line, though some meaningful niche segments will receive attention early with a new M3 confirmed for production and prototype X4 units spied on European roads.

Only after the broader reset is complete does BMW look likely to launch new sports cars that executives refer to as “brand shapers”.

Other models not pulling their weight in terms of sales volume will depart the line-up.

“There is some rationalisation that is happening,” BMW regional sales chief Ritu Chandy told carsales. “There will be some models that will not have successor models in the future.”

The Z4 roadster and M8 have been discontinued, though the 4 Series could get a new lease on life, particularly in coupe form.

The view at BMW is that there is a suitable time to launch ‘brand shapers’, but that now is not the appropriate time.

“The [original] i3 was a brand shaper, for example. Or the i8. That was the time to make a brand shaper, far away from the normal series portfolio. Now, it is completely the other way,” Reichelt said.

With a new M3 on the way and the door open to a 4 Series renewal, there are also hints that BMW will push its halo models in a new direction, toward a rugged flagship 4x4.

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