BMW split its next 3 Series across two plants and two platforms.
BMW Group posted a teaser for the eighth-generation 3 Series on 27 September. It shows camouflaged prototypes on ice, snow and a wet test track, and engineers at their test benches. BMWBlog says the car debuts on 30 September.
There are two cars behind the name. BMWBlog reports that the combustion-engine 3 Series will be built in Dingolfing on an updated version of BMW's current platform. The fully electric version ramps up at BMW's Munich plant from the second half of 2026, the company says, on the new Neue Klasse platform, according to BMWBlog.
The two are fundamentally different underneath, BMWBlog reports. BMW's design chief said customers should be "hard-pressed to tell the two apart".
BMW says it has built over 18 million 3 Series cars since 1975, in 18 plants across 13 countries. Munich, its home plant, will build only electric cars from the end of 2027, BMWBlog reports.
For the teams who run a carmaker's ERP, two platforms in two plants mean separate parts lists, production steps and sourcing under one model name.
How many platforms sit behind your biggest product name?
🎥 Video: BMW Group, official YouTube channel, 27 Sep 2026 · narration: AI voice
What the captions say
- BMW's next 3 Series, still in camouflage.
- It debuts on 30 September.
- The combustion car will be built in Dingolfing.
- The electric version ramps up in Munich.
- Different platforms, nearly the same face.
- BMW has built over 18 million 3 Series.
- In 18 plants and 13 countries since 1975.
