The automaker will slowly discontinue the use of the letter ‘i’ on gas-powered cars and SUVs
4 hours ago
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- The letter “i” will no longer be used for gas-powered BMW models. It will remain exclusive to electric vehicles.
- This change aims to avoid confusion between electric vehicles (i4) and gas-powered models (440i).
- It’s unclear if BMW plans to use a new letter to signify gas-powered vehicles in the future.
For years, BMW employed a specific nomenclature to categorize its models. The first digit indicated the market segment of the model series, while the following two digits represented the engine displacement in liters before signifying the ‘virtual displacement,’ essentially indicating the power hierarchy within the range. The letter at the end denoted the engine technology.
Gasoline-powered cars with injection systems bore an ‘i,’ while diesel engines were designated by ‘d.’ The letter ‘e’ stood for ‘eta,’ signifying energy efficiency, and is now applied to hybrids. However, the brand is undergoing a change as it shifts its focus to electric vehicles, where the letter ‘i’ is now used in front of the model series.
The shift away from using the letter ‘i’ on gasoline cars began with the introduction of the BMW i3. Although it featured a gas-powered engine in the range extender version, the change was evident—the ‘i’ was now positioned at the forefront. This new convention is evident in all of BMW’s electric vehicles, such as the i4, i5, i7, and iX. Now, the German automaker has confirmed that it will cease using ‘i’ on gas-powered cars in the future.
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Speaking to BMWBlog, Bernd Körber, Senior Vice President BMW Brand and Product Management, said: “Historically, even though our interpretation of BMW i was always different, it’s more innovation, not necessarily only electric, and we historically had injection at the end [of the badge], we said, we would like to keep ‘i’ as an asset, and we would like to keep it as a signature to indicate you’re driving an electric car and that was the logic that we had.”
So in effect, the change here is one that intends to limit confusion between cars like the BMW i5 which is all electric, and the BMW 540i which isn’t. Expect this shift to begin appearing this year as BMW plans updates on the 1-Series, 2-Series, and the X3.
While it might seem logical for BMW to adopt a new designation, given that diesel models still use the letter ‘D’ and plug-in hybrids are designated with an ‘E,’ it’s worth noting that BMW has previously sold models with no additional lettering at all, which could very well be the case here. We’ll know before the end of 2024.
