While most of us are wondering what 2024 might have in store for us, we can be sure it’ll involve plenty of sightings of this, the BMW iX3, which is scheduled for a 2025 launch. The first of the Neue Klasse family of cars that will be the backbone of BMW’s lineup right into the mid 2030s, the iX3 is a crucial vehicle and the German automaker can’t afford to mess it up. We’re calling it the iX3, because that name seems logical as it will effectively replace the current iX3 sold in Europe (but not the U.S.), and is around the same size. But BMW hasn’t officially confirmed that name and refers to the electric SUV internally as NA5.

It’s slated to begin production around 18 months from now, when it will join a refreshed version of the current combustion X3 in BMW’s lineup, which means there’s still plenty of development work to be carried out on prototypes like this one before the camo is ready to come off. Though it wears plenty of disguise, it’s clear that the SUV’s styling blends traditional BMW cues like the Hofmeister kink in the rear window with some more radical ideas seen on BMW’s recent concept cars, like the flush panel across the nose. That’s fine with us, because we loved the look of the little Vision Circular and Vision Neue Klasse, and if the iX3 looks like them it means it won’t look like its slow-selling PHEV XM big brother. Even the interior shot – though not hugely clear – seems to suggest the dashboard will look like the one on the Vision Neue Klasse and won’t have a traditional instrument display, but rely on augmented reality graphics projected on the windshield instead.

 

There’s a good chance that the next XM might end up on the Neue Klasse platform if it goes down the pure-EV route because BMW says the architecture is flexible to be used on everything from a little 2-Series to a three-row X7. You can expect plenty of flexibility within each model range, too. As with other current BMW electric cars like the i4, we’re expecting the iX3 to be available with a choice of single- and dual-motor powertrains, giving the option of two- or all-wheel drive. Entry-level single-motor cars could carry iX3 40 branding, while at the other end of the scale we can expect BMW to offer M60 xDrive and potentially even iX3 M performance variants.