New BMW 3 Series will say “auf wiedersehen” to giant grilles

• All-new BMW 3 Series coming in 2026
• New styling inspired by the Vision Neue Klasse concept
• Available with both petrol or electric power

Testing and development of the next-generation BMW 3 Series is well underway, and it’s expected to bring some big changes. It has the important task of introducing BMW’s ‘Neue Klasse’ – or ‘new class’ – design language to the executive saloon, along with new electric and hybrid technology.

That’s right – unlike any 3 Series that’s come before it, the new model will be available as an EV. Presumably to be badged as the i3, it will be sold alongside the regular petrol-powered 3 Series when both launch in 2026. They won’t be the first ‘Neue Klasse’ models to hit the market, though; at least six new BMWs are headed our way, starting with the BMW iX3 replacement next year.

What will the new BMW 3 Series look like?

The new BMW 3 Series hasn’t been fully revealed yet, but the Vision Neue Klasse concept and recent spy shots have given us a good idea of what to expect. As you’ll see in our exclusive render images, the new BMW 3 Series could sport a drastically different face to the outgoing model.

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BMW’s iconic kidney grilles appear to have been growing larger and larger with every new model, but things could swing the opposite direction with the new 3 Series. The pair of central grilles will be replaced instead by a slim, mask-like fascia, dubbed the “shark nose”. This look is key to the Neue Klasse design language, which takes inspiration from BMW’s series of ‘New Class’ saloons from the 1960s and 70s.

For the petrol 3 Series, this mask will act as a traditional grille supplying air to the engine, while electric models could feature a blanked-off version. It will also house the various sensors needed for the safety and driving assistance features, not to mention the LED headlights either side. Judging by our spy shots, the LED strakes from the Neue Klasse concept car appear to have been swapped for more conventional units.

The new 3 Series will stick to a classic saloon shape, although we expect its surfaces and body lines to be a bit simpler than before, which would be in keeping with the latest BMW 5 Series. Flush-mounted door handles will also help to clean things up along the sides, while we expect high-performance M3 models to get suitably pumped-up wheelarches for a sportier stance.

The mask-like motif could be repeated at the rear of the new 3 Series, with the tail-lights spanning nearly the full width of the car. 

What about the new 3 Series’ interior?

We don’t have any interior spy shots of the new 3 Series yet, but the Vision Neue Klasse concept provided some big hints back in 2023.

The interior will be designed around an “eyes on the road, hands on the wheel” principle, which will dictate the layout of the controls. Central to this design will be the new BMW iDrive software and its ‘Panoramic Vision’ system.

This new layout will see the traditional driver’s gauges swapped for projection on the base of the windscreen. In the concept car, this spans the whole width of the windscreen, providing driving information like speed, as well as media and navigation directions.

A 3D head-up display will be offered, too, along with BMW’s latest voice control system and steering wheel buttons, all with the aim to keep the driver’s hands on the wheel. With this in mind, and judging by the Neue Klasse concept and latest BMW 1 Series, we expect the iDrive rotary controller to be dropped.

What about engine and battery specs?

BMW won’t abandon petrol entirely for this new generation of 3 Series – it’ll continue to be sold alongside a brand new EV model. We expect the same engines to be carried over from the current 3 Series to the new one.

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That would mean a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine as the base offering, with some mild hybrid assistance to boost efficiency. Above that will sit a plug-in hybrid version of the same engine, although its electric-only range is likely to increase from the current model’s 62 miles. The 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine from the M340i should reappear here, too, perhaps with a name change to M350 – BMW has recently dropped the ‘i’ from its petrol models to prevent confusion with its EVs.

The electric 3 Series will be based around a new 800V electric architecture, which will allow for ultra-rapid charging speeds, a bit like the Porsche Taycan and Kia EV9. At the right public charging station, you could be able to add as much as 186 miles of range in just 10 minutes.

BMW’s new eDrive batteries will be used here, which will provide more range and quicker charging than before. We don’t know much about battery sizes or electric motor details, but a range of over 400 miles should be possible given that cars like the BMW i4 and i5 can already manage over 360.

A new generation of BMW M3 will follow the regular 3 Series in 2027, and it’ll also be offered as an EV for the first time. The petrol model should retain its six-cylinder engine, while it’s been suggested that the EV will generate 1,341bhp from its quad-motor setup – nearly three times as much as the current petrol-powered M3.

Find out more about the 3 Series’ big rivals, the Mercedes C-Class and Audi A5…