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BMW is planning to discontinue U.S. sales of its all-electric iX SUV at the conclusion of 2026, as noted in a report on BMWBlog. The stylized iX was just refreshed at the start of the 2026 model year, but that won’t spare it from disappearing from our shores. It will, however, continue to be sold in other markets.
We reached out to a BMW spokesperson for comment, and received the following, which has been lightly edited for brevity: “Our success in the U.S. is driven by a broad and flexible powertrain portfolio that allows us to navigate a dynamic environment while continuing to evolve our lineup. As part of this progression, we are concluding U.S. allocation of the BMW iX as we prepare for the next generation of our fully electric vehicles.”
BMW | Fabian Kirchbauer
That line about “next generation” of EVs is important. BMW has been hard at work readying a whole new EV platform upon which multiple EVs will ride, and it’s calling the platform “Neue Klasse,” or “New Class.” The term informs everything from styling to engineering decisions. We got our first look at the philosophy in concept all the way back in September of 2023 with a sedan, and then saw the SUV adaptation of these guiding principles in March of the following year.
The BMW spokesperson continued: “We remain fully committed to electrification in the U.S. and are transitioning to our upcoming Neue Klasse models, beginning with the BMW iX3, powered by our latest Gen6. eDrive technology. This marks the beginning of the Neue Klasse era and the introduction of these technologies across our future portfolio, and we are confident these vehicles will surpass the expectations of customers when they enter the U.S. market in the coming months.”
BMW | Fabian Kirchbauer
The iX3, which we first saw in September of last year, is the opening salvo of the Neue Klasse era. It has a lot of major advancements and tweaks for BMW’s EV efforts: 800-volt architecture, a combination of synchronous and asynchronous motors, a new type of dash-mounted display, a new type of battery cell, and a new type of electrical architecture, plus updated software and hardware throughout. (That bit about the electric motors is especially interesting; for a great breakdown of those, be sure to read Grace Jarvis’ story about the iX3’s debut from last September.)
Hot on the heels of the iX3, we’ll see the i3 arrive. The i3 is not a tiny futuristic urban runabout like it was the first time that nameplate debuted; rather, it’s now essentially the all-electric 3 Series. (It’s expected that the next generation of the 3 Series will also offer gasoline and hybrid drivetrains as well, consistent with BMW’s comment above, but we have yet to hear anything definite about those models.) Deliveries for the new i3 are expected to start in the fall of this year.
BMW | Fabian Kirchbauer
Because the iX is roughly the size of the X5 gas-powered SUV, we’d expect that the iX’s replacement will probably follow the traditional naming convention and carry the iX5 nameplate. It will ride on the Neue Klasse platform as well, but we haven’t seen much on this model as of yet. We’d guess that by the end of the year, we’ll have something for you on that, so stay tuned.
