The 2026 BMW i3 – the first battery-electric 3 Series and the first sedan to be based on the German automaker’s ‘Neue Klasse’ 800-volt electric architecture – will reportedly offer up to 800km of range on a single battery charge.
If the report by British publication Autocar proves correct, the BMW i3 will offer more range than any electric vehicle (EV) currently on sale in Australia, including the 2025 Tesla Model 3 Long Range RWD – the longest-range EV available here, with a claimed 750km.
Due to arrive in Australia in late 2026 or early 2027, the electric 3 Series will face off with not only the Model 3, but EV versions of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class – also expected here in 2026 – and the Audi A4 in 2028.
Updated petrol-engined versions will also be sold alongside the new battery-powered 3 Series, but they will be based on the CLAR (Cluster Architecture) platform that underpins the current G20 model – with both six-cylinder petrol and electric versions of the iconic M3 performance flagship already confirmed by BMW.
While BMW Australia has achieved significant success with its i4 mid-size electric liftback – which outsold the entire Mercedes-Benz C-Class lineup in 2024, but is now offered only in a single model grade – the 2026 i3 will offer a variety of choices.
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Autocar says the i3 will be launched in sedan form – followed by a Touring (wagon) derivative – starting with the 50 xDrive variant as per the new iX3 mid-size electric SUV, the first Neue Klasse-based BMW model, which was unveiled in Munich last month and is due in Australia in mid-2026.
In the new iX3, the powertrain offers 346kW of power and 649Nm of torque, with a 108kW nickel manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery offering a range of up to 800km and DC fast-charging speeds of up to 400kW.
The i3’s exterior will echo the look of the Vision Neue Klasse concept shown in 2023, with traditional BMW styling cues including the Hofmeister kink on the C-pillar.
The cabin will also follow the new iX3’s interior design, with a wraparound multimedia display including an angled infotainment touchscreen, plus an expanded head-up display covering the entire windscreen.
Electric models accounted for almost a quarter (24.2 per cent) of BMW’s global sales in 2024 – almost 600,000 vehicles – with the company’s Australian EV sales making up an even higher proportion at nearly one-third (29.6 per cent).
The iX1 small electric SUV was BMW’s best-selling EV in Australia last year, ahead of the i4 and the iX2.
The iconic 3 Series is currently the German brand’s fifth-best selling model here, behind the X1, X3, X5, and X2.
More details on the born-again i3, which will revive a nameplate last seen on a BMW electric city car produced between 2013 and 2022, are expected ahead of its world debut in early 2026.
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