Photo: CarPix
The 3 Series is perhaps the most iconic BMW model, but sales slipped last year due to several reasons. The car can't stop not being an SUV, but it can try to compete with the Tesla Model 3, and that's precisely what it's doing.
Our spies stationed in Southern Europe have captured this interesting prototype. At first glance, it looks like any ordinary G20, which is the codename for the next generation 3 Series. However, it's anything but ordinary.
Thankfully for us, there's a law that says electric test prototypes need to have special inscriptions on them for safety reasons. And that's what gives this away as a 3 Series that charges up from the mains.
"Oh, but it has exhausts, which means it's just a plug-in hybrid," we hear you say. Except those pipes are fakes, as you'll see if you zoom in on them. Porsche did something similar with the early Taycan mules.
Frankly, we're not surprised that BMW has switched away from the bespoke-bodied "i" green cars to versions that are based on regular models. The iX3 already previewed this direction. Other automakers have had success with the formula, most notably the Koreans, which can't keep up with Kona EV demand right now.
Considering the new 3 Series is already bigger than the outgoing model, we wouldn't be surprised if BMW manages to squeeze a 60 or 70 kWh battery with up to 250 miles of range in this car or almost ten times more than the 330e in EV mode.
We think that a small BMW that can run without using a single drop of gas sound very sexy, but it will play catch-up with the Model 3 which could easily be one of the most popular sedans in America were it not for supply caps. The not-so-affordable affordable car from Tesla was said to be present during the testing of the 3er EV.
Thankfully for BMW and its sales charts, the G20 3 Series can be other things besides an EV. This includes everything from a 140 horsepower 3-cylinder car to a 460 HP M3, which by the way is also expected to go hybrid.
Thankfully for us, there's a law that says electric test prototypes need to have special inscriptions on them for safety reasons. And that's what gives this away as a 3 Series that charges up from the mains.
"Oh, but it has exhausts, which means it's just a plug-in hybrid," we hear you say. Except those pipes are fakes, as you'll see if you zoom in on them. Porsche did something similar with the early Taycan mules.
Frankly, we're not surprised that BMW has switched away from the bespoke-bodied "i" green cars to versions that are based on regular models. The iX3 already previewed this direction. Other automakers have had success with the formula, most notably the Koreans, which can't keep up with Kona EV demand right now.
Considering the new 3 Series is already bigger than the outgoing model, we wouldn't be surprised if BMW manages to squeeze a 60 or 70 kWh battery with up to 250 miles of range in this car or almost ten times more than the 330e in EV mode.
We think that a small BMW that can run without using a single drop of gas sound very sexy, but it will play catch-up with the Model 3 which could easily be one of the most popular sedans in America were it not for supply caps. The not-so-affordable affordable car from Tesla was said to be present during the testing of the 3er EV.
Thankfully for BMW and its sales charts, the G20 3 Series can be other things besides an EV. This includes everything from a 140 horsepower 3-cylinder car to a 460 HP M3, which by the way is also expected to go hybrid.
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