German automaker BMW has been filing for a total of 48 new names with the German Trade Mark and Patent Office as it joins the EV drive. These proposed names are meant for the brand’s upcoming electric cars in the following years, implying its plans to rename its entire portfolio.
How does BMW names its car offerings?
BMW traditionally employed three digits to denote the model range, engine capacity, and trim level. Sometimes M appears before these numerals to indicate a performance version. In order to specify the type of engine, it may also be followed by a suffix like d, I, or e.
Vehicles are typically identified by their first number, such as the 3 Series, which can range from a 318i to an M340i.
About BMW’s trademark filings
Now, BMW apparently intends to use new trademarks for names of vehicles such as the i120, iX130, and X750 that begin with the letters i, X, and iX. Usually, the prefix X stands for an SUV or crossover like the X7 or X5, while the prefix I is for an electric car like the i4. Meanwhile, the “50” refers to the car’s powertrain.
That said, the i120 and iX130 are 1 Series cars, while the X750 is a 7 Series car, per the automaker’s current name convention.
On the other hand, a name like the 530i or 530d for diesel would identify a traditional combustion-engine counterpart of the 5 Series. The 530e would be the name of the hybrid model, and the i530 would be the name of the electric-only model.
As per the filings, only one M model was registered among the M350 trademarks, which is most probably a more powerful 3 Series. Some EV platform expects that they will succeed in the existing M340i.
The following is the list of new BMW trademarked names, organized by model series:
BMW 1 Series/i1:
- i118
- i120
- i130
- i140
BMW X1/iX1:
- X130
- iX120
- iX130
BMW X2/iX2:
- iX220im
- 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
See Also:
- BMW persists to invest in ICE for the next ten years
- BMW plans to release six Neue Klasse electric vehicles by 2028
- BMW to invest £500m for Mini plant upgrade in Britain, including £75m from taxpayers
- BMW recalls over 90,000 electric vehicles in China due to software problems
- 2023 BMW iX xDrive50 and M60 with 300-Mile EPA Range
By 2028, BMW forecasts its EV sales will surpass those of ICE and PHEV. That said, the automaker’s new trademark registrations may be part of its electrification efforts.
