BMW Neue Klasse platform brings range and charging boost at lower price

BMW has said that its upcoming Neue Klasse platform will deliver significant cost savings as well as a technological ‘quantum leap’.

The Bavarian brand has revealed more details of the sixth-generation battery and motor systems that will power its next generation of electric cars.

Labelled Gen6, the all-new 800V architecture will make its debut in the new iX3, which is due to launch later this year, and will underpin all BMW EVs going forward, including those from its M Division performance arm.

BMW says the new platform will offer up to 30% more range from its batteries and allow for a 30% increase in charging speeds, as well as bidirectional charging. For reference, an i4 currently offers up to 359 miles of range and charging at 205kW, suggesting the next-generation 3 Series could have a range of 477 and charging speeds of close to 275kW.

Key to the improvements are all-new nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries that use a cylindrical cell construction with 20% better energy density than the previous type. These are fitted to the cars using cell-to-pack and pack-to-body construction, which cuts down on components and saves weight, while making the battery a structural part of the car.

The new cells are slimmer than the Gen5 system’s as well, meaning Neue Klasse cars will be able to have lower floor levels than their predecessors and the batteries are suitable for even sporty applications.

As with the Gen5 setup, the Neue Klasse cars will use a rear-mounted electrically excited synchronous motor (EESM) as their main drive unit. The motors, however, are new and are lighter, quieter and more efficient than before. For the first time, BMW will also use asynchronous motors (ASM). These are smaller and cheaper than the EESM and will be used on the front axle of xDrive models to provide all-wheel-drive. The use of ASM also means that for the first time, BMW will be able to offer two-, three- or even four-motor setups depending on the model.

BMW says the combined effect of motor improvements cut energy losses by 40%, costs by 20% and weight by 10% compared to a current-generation car. In total, it estimates that the Neue Klasse cars will be at least 20% more efficient than their Gen5 predecessors.

All the battery and drive components are managed by a new ‘BMW Energy Master’ control unit which, for the first time has been developed and built entirely in-house.

On-road testing of the new architecture is underway with prototypes built at the Debrecen factory in Hungary. Full production of the iX3 will start there in the coming months before work begins on more Neue Klasse models there and and at other factories around the world.

As part of a ‘local for local’ approach, the high-voltage batteries will be built in five locations around the globe. Factories in Germany, Hungary, China, Mexico and the United States will provide batteries for local production vehicles, reducing the environmental impact and safeguarding production against what BMW calls ‘unforeseen political and economic events’.

“For the BMW Group, electric mobility is the future and a key area of growth,” commented BMW board member Dr Joachim Post. “We are leading the way with this drivetrain technology. At the same time, we are deliberately taking a technology-open approach, recognizing that mobility needs vary between different regions of the world.”