What’s Happening: BMW has been active in registering trademarks for 48 different names with the German Trade Mark and Patent Office. This move is in response to the automaker's upcoming launch of numerous electric vehicles in the coming years, and may suggest a possible revision to their current model naming structure.
More info: Currently, BMW uses a naming convention that includes three numbers to indicate the model range and engine displacement or trim level, with optional prefixes or suffixes like M, d, i, or e to indicate performance or engine type. Generally, the first number is used to refer to the vehicle range, such as the 3 Series, which can encompass models ranging from the 318i to the M340i.
However, BMW's recent trademark filings suggest a potential shift in their naming scheme, with new names featuring prefixes like i, X, and iX. Examples of these new names include the i120, iX130, and X750. Based on BMW's current naming convention, it's possible that the i120 and iX130 may be part of the 1 Series range, while the X750 may belong to the 7 Series.
Here are all the new names trademarked by BMW, listed by model series:
BMW 1 Series/i1:
- i118
- i120
- i130
- i140
BMW X1/iX1:
- X130
- iX120
- iX130
BMW X2/iX2:
- iX220
- iX230
- iX240
BMW 3 Series/i3:
- i320
- i330
- i340
- M350
BMW X3/iX3:
- X320
- X330
- iX330
- iX340
- iX350
BMW 4 Series/i4:
- i420
- i430
- i450
BMW X4/iX4:
- X420
- iX430
- iX440
- iX450
BMW 5 Series/i5:
- i530
- i550
BMW X5/iX5:
- X540
- X550
- X560
- iX540
- iX550
- iX560
BMW X6/iX6:
- X640
- X650
- iX640
- iX650
- iX660
BMW 7 Series/i7:
- i740
- i750
- i760
BMW X7/iX7:
- X740
- X750
- X760
- iX740
- iX750
- iX760
Bottom Line: Given that BMW will still be producing traditional internal-combustion engine vehicles in the future, as well as hybrid and electric models, it's likely that their current naming scheme will remain in use. This means that for models such as the 5 Series, a gasoline-powered version would be designated as the 530i, or 530d for a diesel variant. The hybrid version would be called the 530e, and the all-electric version would be labeled as the i530.
Source: CarBuzz
