BMW i3 Touring BEV confirmed, petrol in doubt

WAGONS remain on the menu at BMW, but the marque’s ‘Touring’ estates are firming as a regional European delicacy with only battery electric (BEV) power confirmed for the next-generation 3 Series Touring – but the door has not been closed on a petrol version.

Towards the end of last week’s world premiere of the eighth-generation BMW 3 Series sedan, BMW Group chair Oliver Zipse confirmed that the model would again spawn a Touring variant, while a long-roofed silhouette was displayed.

“The 3 Series has been much more than just a sedan – I don’t want to reveal everything today, but there is one model I am happy to confirm: the BMW 3 Series Touring,” said Mr Zipse.

“Business customers and families will be particularly delighted – the Touring has always been a favourite with them.”

As a sedan, the new 3 Series will be sold with electric, petrol or hybrid powertrains, but BMW is currently making a final decision on whether the station wagon will also provide a similar choice or if it will be electric-only.

The ‘NA0’ BEV version of the latest 3 Series – badged i3 – uses BMW’s most modern Neue Klasse platform while ‘G50’ ICE and hybrid variants sit atop an updated version of the outgoing ‘G20’ model’s Cluster Architecture chassis.

BMW has staggered the launch of the new 3 Series, with an August start of electric sedan production given a big head start. Combustion variants will not be built until late 2026, with the Touring joining in mid-2027.

That timing gives BMW a little more time to finalise its call on whether a petrol-powered ‘G51’ 3 Series Touring should complement the confirmed ‘NA1’ i3 Touring in the brand’s dealerships in Europe and select other markets.

The reason for the emphasis on the electric version of the 3 Series Touring comes down to the fact that European markets account for approximately 80 per cent of BMW’s station wagon sales, and much of that volume springs from company car or salary-sacrifice programs.

With similar policies to Australia, European emissions regulations impose strong financial incentives on car-makers to sell BEVs rather than combustion models, though partial credit is often achievable with plug-in hybrid (PHEV) systems.

Some European countries remain geared towards BEV uptake but a softening in enthusiasm for fully electric cars in other parts of the continent is understood to have triggered reconsideration of whether the new 3 Series Touring should retain the choice of ICE engines via CO2-slashing PHEV tech.

In Australia, the outgoing ‘G21/G81’ 3 Series Touring continues to be sold as a non-hybrid turbo four-cylinder badged 330i, or as the fire-breathing M3 Competition Touring, with a 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six. In Europe, though, the dominant engines are the 320e and 330e four-cylinder PHEVs.

As a sedan, the next M3 will follow the standard 3 Series in offering a choice of ICE (a mild hybrid six) or BEV (with quad motors). While the former will appeal to petrolheads, the latter will effectively give M3 fans in CO2-regulated markets an option with a lower tax burden.

The petrol-fuelled ‘G84’ M3 sedan will satisfy Europe’s tough EU7 emissions laws without resorting to a PHEV system (as the Audi RS5 has), but the M3 Touring had been tipped to go electric-only with a US launch having been ruled out.

BMW has long pursued a ‘Power of Choice’ powertrain philosophy under which as many models as possible will offer buyers the choice of ICE, hybrid or BEV options.

“In principle, with few exceptions, that’s our thinking – there’s hardly anything in the pipeline where we have basically one variant only,” BMW senior vice president Bernd Körber told media at the i3 premiere.

However, Mr Körber – and other senior BMW sources – indicated that there is indeed a niche model in the current product pipeline that will be offered only as a BEV, without petrol power.