BMW has registered a total of 48 new names with the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), from which it can be concluded that the Bavarian brand is definitely preparing for the electric transition and the next era – note CarBuzz.
The change is mainly necessary to make model names simpler and clearer to customers. Currently, BMW model names are made up of three parts: the first digit is the serial number, the next two digits are the powertrain level, and the last letter, usually a letter, indicates whether the given vehicle has a petrol (“i”) diesel engine (“d”) Or a hybrid or all-electric (“e”) drive.
The scheme has changed so much recently that the “i” prefix has been added to all-electric models. The new system will also become clearer from this point of view, since it will be possible to abandon the suffix used in electric cars, such as “eDrive35”.
The auto portal has learned that BMW has registered trademarks prefixed with “i”, “X” and “iX” in several cases, including the i120, iX130, i750, iX750 and X750. If everything is correct, then in the future the name i750 will cover the electric version of the Series 7, i.e. the current i7 with a Type 50 powertrain. Following the same logic, the X750 will represent the 50-engined version of the current X7 SUV, while the iX750 will replace the current iX7.
Based on what has been suspected so far, the ‘xDrive’ suffix used to denote all-wheel drive is practically the only one that will remain unchanged under the current system.
As previously reported in the press, BMW will not fully release its SUVs and passenger cars equipped with internal combustion engines at this time. For Series 5, this might plot like this:
- The 530e is the hybrid, the 530i is the rear-wheel drive, while the 530i xDrive is the all-wheel drive petrol model,
- Electric versions will be sold under the names i530 and i530 xDrive.
- A more powerful version of the electric X5 SUV with a Level 40 engine will be available as the iX540.
However, recent developments have not really shed light on the fate of the M models. The brand’s 48-item list contains the letter M in only one name, the M350, which is thought to be a more powerful version of the current M340i, but since the ‘i’ suffix Missing, they too. The power source for the future M3 could be called that.
List of names newly protected by BMW:
- BMW 1 / i1 series: i118, i120, i130, i140
- BMW iX1 / X1: iX120, iX130, X130
- BMW iX2 / X2: iX220, iX230, iX240
- BMW 3–as string/i3: i320, i330, i340, M350
- BMW iX3 / X3: iX330, iX340, iX350, X320, X330
- BMW 4 Series / i4: i420, i430, i450
- BMW iX4 / X4: iX430, iX440, iX450, X420
- BMW 5 Series / i5: i530, i550
- BMW iX5 / X5: iX540, iX550, iX560, X540, X550, X560
- BMW iX6 / X6: iX640, iX650, iX660, X640, X650
- BMW 7 Series / i7: i740, i750, i760
- BMW iX7 / X7: iX740, iX750, iX760, X740, X750, X760
