The grille debate – no design regrets at BMW

Despite years of online criticism, BMW design boss Adrian van Hooydonk says the German automaker has no regrets about it outgoing design language that was punctuated by ever-growing double-kidney grilles, insisting the controversial front-end designs have helped sales rather than hurt them.

In a roundtable discussion at the launch of the company’s first Neue Klasse model, the 2026 BMW iX3, Mr van Hooydonk pushed back on suggestions BMW had gone “too radical” with its latest design direction, especially when it comes to the size of the grille.

“No, because it depends on where you are in the world. In certain areas in the world, like China, it is good; people are still asking for big grilles. So this is sort of the tricky situation that you’re in as a global brand,” he said.

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Mr van Hooydonk pushed back on suggestions BMW had gone “too radical” with its latest design direction, especially when it comes to the size of the grille. He confirmed BMW will continue to offer a variety of grille shapes and sizes, depending on the model and market, stating that the Bavarian brand’s double-kidney grille remains a key part of its identity, alongside lighting designs.

“It has always been something that is part of our brand identity, but also it’s something together with the light signature that we are going to use to differentiate in between our models.”

While some critics have often accused BMW of losing its design restraint, van Hooydonk said the loudest voices have not been those of customers.

“There was no backlash from customers. Indeed, of course, we took note of all the negative comments, but we never saw it in the sales figures. Actually, quite the opposite. So in some way or form, we didn’t feel that we had to react.”

Instead, he argued BMW’s oversized grille policy is not just an aesthetic choice but also a functional solution to modern challenges like packaging autonomous driving sensors. Pointing to the significantly revised grille of the new iX3, Mr van Hooydonk said the extra requirements for sensors had played a major role in the new small electric SUV’s frontal design.

“On a car [like the iX3]… we felt that this size of grille actually fits quite well. Also incorporated in this front-end are more sensors than ever before. Of course, our cars are becoming more and more intelligent. They can drive further autonomously. And so one of the questions that we had to solve in our design is how to incorporate these sensors,” he said.

“They are all in this front-end, but you don’t see them. And that was actually also a part of the reasons why the grille had to become highly functional, as it is functional.”

Asked whether Chinese demand for bold and imposing designs is changing now that local brands are experimenting with cleaner, closed-off front-end designs, Mr van Hooydonk said BMW won’t simply follow trends.

“We at BMW tend to always plot our own course, we always have, and so far that has worked well for us. So we have studios all over the world. We have a design studio in Shanghai, we have one in Los Angeles, one in Goodwood, England, and then of course a rather big studio in Munich. We have a very international team.”

He pointed out that many Chinese auto brands rely on European design talent anyway.

“Everything you see on the road now was designed three years ago. And quite frankly, most of the Chinese cars that you see on the road in China were designed in Munich, because most of these car companies have set up a design studio, hired a designer from us. So it’s design that we understand very well.”

Still, he said the company sees now as a moment to take bigger risks, rather than retreat to safe design.

“We believe that we need to set our own course, and now and then you have to take a bigger step. And we believe that time is now [with the Neue Klasse]. We believe now the risk of not changing enough would be far greater than changing too much. And so far, that has always served us well.”

BMW’s approach with the Neue Klasse design language would suggest that the days of the very large grilles are over, at least to some extent. For some future BMW models, however, that could still mean front-end designs that remain bold and highly functional as the company prioritises packaging sensors and technology.

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