BMW’s “i” range of electric vehicles has seen steady growth in recent years, especially after a slow start with the i3 and the i8 models. The lineup is projected to grow and widen its reach over the next few years, which is good news for BMW. However, it’s also inadvertently created a culture of confusion among BMW buyers with the “i” also being used on ICE-powered models such as the BMW 3-Series, 5-Series, etc. A new report, however, suggests that BMW is solving this unenviable situation once and for all by removing the letter altogether on models moving forward.
Does Removing One Letter Solve a Broader Problem?
The report comes from the Australian publication Drive, which cited a post on the BimmerPost forum from a reliable inside source. That source claims that the German luxury carmaker will drop the “i” from its SUV models and will rework the names to make them fall more in line with the EV models. A possible example for us in the U.S. is the popular BMW X3 with the newly tweaked moniker going from the X3 xDrive30i to the X3 xDrive30, with the change also being seen on others like the X5. While the end result is still an alphanumeric soup, it’s a bit simpler than before.
In addition to potentially simplifying things for customers, the rumored change will also upend 50 years of BMW tradition, with the company using the “i” designation for over five decades and some of these models being household names among enthusiasts with the aforementioned moniker in place. However, the push toward full electrification will require BMW to make more updates, and perhaps others are in the wings that we don’t know about. We tried asking BMW reps about it, who responded with their favorite tactic, “No Comment.”
Rumored Move Part Of Broader Pattern
BMW is not the only automaker that’s rumored to be considering making changes to its naming ladder. Rival luxury maker Mercedes-Benz was once rumored to be dropping its EQ brand, with reports earlier this year claiming that the name would be redundant once the company switches to an all-electric lineup. Like BMW, Mercedes-Benz also didn’t provide any official comments on the rumor, and with both companies continuing to offer gasoline-powered models in the short term, we suspect that any of these changes will be in the distant future.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.