The interior design of BMW’s next-generation models has been unveiled, and it’s bad news if you love buttons.
BMW has previewed the cabin design which will feature in all new models launched from late 2025, and which is expected to debut in electric vehicles (EVs) on its Neue Klasse platform.
A new SUV (expected to be called the iX3) is due towards the end of this year, while the i3 (electric 3 Series) is due to follow in 2026.
Dubbed BMW Panoramic iDrive, it’ll be the latest iteration of the brand’s in-car tech, running on the new BMW Operating System X.
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According to BMW, Panoramic iDrive incorporates four main elements: a pillar-to-pillar screen at the base of the windscreen, an available 3D head-up display, a central display screen, and a multifunction steering wheel.
The steering wheel represents the most significant departure from current BMW models, ditching physical buttons and instead moving to backlit, touch-sensitive haptic controls.
BMW claims the haptic controls “have a well-judged, relief-like surface, which makes them extremely easy to locate and means the driver can press them without needing to divert their gaze away from the road”.
Its move to the setup comes after Volkswagen introduced haptic controls in multiple flagship models, only to backtrack and revert to physical buttons after negative media and customer feedback.
Curiously, the design of the steering wheel also makes it appear to be mounted upside down, with the largest of its four sections sitting at the bottom. Its pairs of two spokes complete this illusion as they’re mounted at the top and bottom of the rim, rather than the sides.
The central display operates in the same way as current BMW infotainment screens, except without knobs and buttons to make selections.
The backlit screen has an updated version of BMW’s existing menu structure for convenience, though it allows certain pieces of content to be moved onto the panoramic head-up display.
BMW hasn’t disclosed the screen’s size, and it remains to be seen whether its angled design will be flipped for right-hand drive markets such as Australia.
The pillar-to-pillar screen sits just below the driver’s eye line, with important information such as speed, battery charge and driving range displayed in front of the driver.
The central and passenger-side parts of the display can be customised to the user’s choosing.
The optional 3D head-up display sits above this display on the windscreen, displaying integrated navigation and automated driving information in the driver’s field of view.
The first examples of the BMW’s Neue Klasse-based iX3 are now being made in the brand’s Debrecen, Hungary factory, with the carmaker calling these SUVs “near-series vehicles”.
They’re being produced to ensure the factory’s logistics processes and manufacturing equipment and the operations performed by employees can run smoothly with what is an entirely new platform for BMW, tipped to be its most important for (EVs) yet.
BMW has yet to reveal the i3 and iX3, however they’re expected to remain faithful to the Vision Neue Klasse and Vision Neue Klasse X concepts revealed in September 2023 and March 2024, respectively.
This design language is expected to carry across to BMW’s other Neue Klasse EVs, of which it plans to launch six models across sedan and SUV body styles by 2028.
BMW has previously claimed the Neue Klasse models will boast 30 per cent greater driving range and charging rates compared to its current EV lineup.
MORE: BMW Vision Neue Klasse X: Electric concept previews 2025 iX3
MORE: BMW looks to its next generation with Neue Klasse electric concept
