BMW's next-gen 1-Series to spawn i1 electric variant?
The BMW Group will launch 12 electric cars by 2025, the first of which will be a model from Mini due in 2019.
Most of the 12 cars will be electric versions of regular BMW Group models. For example, the electric Mini will be based on the Mini Hardtop.
An electric BMW X3, to be called the iX3, is also in the works and will arrive in 2020, and BMW Group CEO Harald Krüger just last month confirmed plans for an i4, likely based on the next-generation 4-Series Gran Coupe.
Also among the 12 cars will be an electric version of the next-generation BMW 1-Series Hatchback to be called the i1, Spanish website Motor.es reported on Monday.
The next-gen 1-Series Hatchback is expected to debut in 2019 though any electric version won't arrive until after 2021 based on information from a BMW Group electrification roadmap released last December. The new hatch will be based on the BMW Group's FAAR platform for compact cars that made its debut in 2016 in a 1-Series sedan sold exclusively in China.
While BMW adds more and more electric powertrains to its regular fleet, it will still launch standalone electric cars like the current i3. The next will be the much-hyped iNext due in 2021. These standalone electric cars may not spawn multiple generations, however. BMW is already hinting that there may not be direct replacements for the current i3 and i8.
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