BMW is preparing to launch the next-generation 1 Series in 2028 as both an electric hatchback and a revised combustion-engined model, with the two variants sitting on entirely different platforms. We’ve previously reported on the electric i1, known internally as the NB0 i1 and built on BMW’s Gen6 Neue Klasse architecture. What Autocar has now confirmed is the fuller picture: the combustion-engined 1 Series carries on with the existing UKL2 platform, meaning BMW is effectively running two separate cars under the same nameplate.
Bernd Körber, BMW’s head of product management, has been consistent on why the 1 Series can’t go away. Nearly 200,000 units sold globally last year. Big numbers in Italy, France, and southern Europe generally. “If you want to be a global player,” he told Autocar, “you have to take care of markets where the share of 1 Series is extremely high.” He also made the generational argument: younger buyers enter the brand here, or they don’t enter at all.
Two Platforms, Two Characters
The split platform story is the most important news here. The electric i1 gets the Gen6 architecture, which is rear-biased by design. The combustion-engined car stays on UKL2, which is natively front-wheel drive. So the F40’s front-drive criticism doesn’t go away for the ICE model — it just becomes irrelevant to the EV, which could offer rear-wheel drive as standard and all-wheel drive on higher-spec variants. The original 1 Series hatchback was rear-wheel drive, and that configuration is rumored to come back — just only on the battery-powered version.
For the electric i1, we expect a single rear-mounted motor as standard. A more powerful dual-motor all-wheel drive variant is also likely in the books.
Design and Interior
The 1 Series won’t be mistaken for an i3 sedan, according to reports. Instead, the quirky design of a 1 Series could return, even in the EV form. Expect to see a design language inspired by the Neue Klasse styling. Inside, the next-generation 1 Series gets the full Neue Klasse treatment regardless of powertrain — the 17.9-inch slanted central screen and 43.3-inch Panoramic iDrive unit in place of a conventional instrument cluster.
Production is rumored to start in late 2028. The BMW i2, expected as a Gran Coupe, follows shortly after. The current F40 runs through 2027 or early 2028. [Top Rendering: instagram.com/theottle]
First published by https://www.bmwblog.com
