Will This All-Electric BMW i4 Preview The Next 4 Series Gran Coupe?

BMW has given a sneak preview of its upcoming battery electric vehicle (BEV) – the first ever BMW i4, a four-door coupe that slots between the city commuter i3 and the two-seater i8 sports car.

Since it’s a four-door coupe, the i4 has many design elements that could hint towards the upcoming all-new 4 Series Gran Coupe but it’s still difficult to say for certain that this is the next 4 Series Gran Coupe.

This is because BMW has said that the i4 will be made at BMW’s Munich plant in 2021. The Munich plant currently only makes the 3 Series (all variants) and 4 Series coupe but not the 4 Series Gran Coupe, which is currently produced at BMW’s Dingolfing plant.

At the same time, BMW has also announced that the Dingolfing plant, which mainly produces 5 Series and 7 Series models, will be retooled to manufacture the iNEXT, which will enter production in 2021. More on that later.

Given that the i4’s market launch is still two years away, BMW is understandably keeping a tight lid on the details but the company did say that it will have a range of 600 km (WLTP test cycle). Sprint from 0 to 100 km/h is just a mere 4 seconds, with a top speed of 200 km/h.

Also announced are two more upcoming electric SUVs – the iX3 and iNEXT.

The iX3 will be produced in China in 2020, from where it will then be exported to international markets. Essentially a fully electric version of the X3, the iX3 will compete directly against the Mercedes-Benz EQC. It will have a 400 km driving range (WLTP cycle) and when hooked up to a suitably equipped 150 kW DC fast charger, charging can be completed in just 30 minutes.

Completing the trio of upcoming BMW electric vehicles is the iNEXT. Its relative position within BMW’s product hierarchy is still unclear but it does have elements of the X7. The iNEXT will enter production in 2021 at BMW’s Dingolfing plant. It will serve as BMW’s new technology flagship, with a 600 km driving range (WLTP test cycle) and is designed for Level 3 automated driving.

All three models mentioned here will utilize BMW’s fifth generation eDrive technology.