Paris Motor Show: BMW Confirms New i4 Model on the Way for 2021

BMW's Chairman of the Board of Management Harald Krüger announced Tuesday in a statement to kick off the Paris Motor Show that the company plans to release a new electric vehicle, dubbed the i4.

"It is my pleasure to announce that the BMW i4 will also be arriving in 2021," stated Krüger. "That means, in 2021 we will have five, fully-electric core models. This underlines our strong commitment to future mobility."

The models referred to by Krüger are confirmed to include the Mini EV coming in 2019, the BMW iX3 electric crossover in 2020, and the result of the iNext project as well as the i4 itself in 2021. BMW did not state whether the i3 will be retained through 2021—we've reached out for confirmation of this intent. 

Krüger also confirmed to Autocar that the i4 will utilize lightweight construction to make the model attractive in a market of electric vehicles weighed down by bulky batteries that hamper handling. He added that the i4 will be one of a dozen EVs sold by the automaker in 2025, alongside as many as 25 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles sold by the Bavarian marque.

"The leading factors that will set it apart are fantastic design, which is very different to anything else on the road and the fact that it is lighter and therefore more dynamic than anything we see on the market today, thanks to the materials we will use," Krüger told the publication. "Couple that with the connectivity technology we are constantly developing and we are confident it will lead the market."

Potential concept designs for the i4 trickled out as far back as 2016, when images of a vehicle with an obvious BMW i-series resemblance were patented in Japan, according to Autoguide. The images were then believed to be of the then-planned, now-tabled i5. Because the styling is closer to that of a B-pillarless four-door sedan (which automakers often call a four-door coupe), there still exists a possibility that the design will fit the i4, as BMW uses even numbers to designate its coupes.