BMW i3 Neue Klasse: UK price and 2026 timing

News · 5 Jun 2026 · Car Deal Expert Editorial Team

The BMW i3 is back, and this time it is the electric BMW 3 Series, not the quirky 2013 to 2022 city car that wore the badge first. BMW revealed the new Neue Klasse saloon on 18 March 2026 with a provisional WLTP range of up to 900km, an 800-volt platform and 400kW charging.

The new BMW i3 is the electric 3 Series, not the old city car

The disambiguation matters for search and showroom conversations: this is a brand-new car. The original i3 was a tall, carbon-tubbed hatchback built from 2013 to 2022. The 2026 i3 is a four-door saloon on BMW’s Neue Klasse architecture, the platform that underpins the BMW iX3 Neue Klasse and its UK deliveries. It is the second Neue Klasse model and the first all-electric 3 Series sold outside China. Per BMW Group, production starts at Plant Munich in August 2026, with first deliveries from autumn 2026. For anyone cross-shopping a used petrol 3 Series or an i4 on salary sacrifice, it reshapes the BMW EV ladder.

Range, battery and charging: the 800-volt headline figures

The launch model is the i3 50 xDrive, with a motor on each axle for 345kW (469hp) and 645Nm. BMW quotes a provisional WLTP range of up to 900km, roughly 559 miles, and is explicit that these are preliminary because no binding WLTP values are signed off yet. The sixth-generation eDrive system uses new cylindrical cells in a cell-to-pack layout on an 800-volt architecture. That voltage is the real story: peak DC charging hits 400kW, enough to add around 400km (about 249 miles) in 10 minutes. Real-world UK range will sit below the lab figure, but even a conservative read puts it well clear of the current i5’s real-world range.

Expected UK price and on-sale timing

BMW has not published UK pricing. UK outlets including Honest John and Autocar expect the i3 50 xDrive to start around £55,000 to £57,000, with cheaper rear-drive versions following that could dip nearer £50,000. Treat those as informed estimates, not confirmed figures. Order books should open in autumn 2026 alongside first deliveries, mirroring the iX3 cadence. That pitches the i3 above a used G20 3 Series but in the same bracket as a new i4, which is exactly where the interesting buying decisions sit.

What it means for P2 salary-sacrifice shortlists

This is where the new saloon gets genuinely tempting for a higher-rate taxpayer. As a zero-emission car it sits in the lowest company-car benefit-in-kind band: per HMRC’s company-car tables, the appropriate percentage for a 0g/km EV is 4% in 2026/27 (checked 5 June 2026). On a roughly £55,000 P11D car at 4%, the taxable benefit is about £2,200, so a 40% taxpayer pays around £880 a year in BiK before the payroll sacrifice. That low BiK is the same lever that makes the iX on salary sacrifice and the Tesla Model 3 on payroll work, and the long range removes the one objection that usually kills an executive saloon on payroll: range anxiety on business miles. Anyone weighing the routes should read our salary sacrifice vs car allowance comparison first.

How it reshapes the used 3 Series and i4 picture for P3 buyers

For a P3 buyer financing new on PCP, an electric 3 Series has knock-on effects worth planning around. The i3 will sit alongside the i4, and dealers tend to sharpen PCP deposit contributions on the outgoing model when a headline car lands, which can make a late i4 cheaper to finance short term. On the used side, a desirable new EV saloon usually softens residuals on the petrol G20 it replaces in buyers’ minds: good news if you are shopping used, less so if you are about to hand back a PCP. If you are budgeting a deposit, our guide to premium EV deposit strategy covers cash down versus keeping it for charging and insurance.

The interior and the catch worth flagging

Inside, the cabin carries the Neue Klasse layout first seen on the iX3: a pillar-to-pillar Panoramic Vision display along the base of the windscreen, a slim touchscreen and a pared-back dashboard. The catch is that every figure here is provisional, BMW’s own wording, so the 559-mile headline could move before the car reaches UK roads. Supply is the other catch: launch allocations on a flagship Munich-built EV run tight, so early UK cars may carry pricier M Sport trim before cheaper variants arrive. The wider CDE EV coverage tracks how each Neue Klasse model lands in the UK.

BMW’s own world-premiere film walks through the design and Neue Klasse tech in full, the clearest look yet at the production car.

Our take

The BMW i3 looks like the most important EV BMW has launched since the i4, and for once the badge revival makes sense: this is the 3 Series going electric properly, not a niche experiment. The provisional 559-mile range and 400kW charging finally answer the range objection on an executive saloon, and the 4% BiK rate makes it a serious salary-sacrifice contender the moment scheme pricing appears. Our view: if you are a higher-rate taxpayer with a salary-sacrifice scheme, this is worth waiting for over a personal-lease i4, provided the early-exit terms are clean. If you are a cash or PCP buyer, hold your nerve, let launch allocations settle, and reassess once BMW confirms UK pricing and binding WLTP figures. We would not buy on the headline range alone before the final numbers land.