EV age: BMW may rename its entire lineup, files for 48 new trademarks

BMW seems to be mulling the plan to rename its entire range when the German luxury car brand transition into the EV era. The automaker has recently filed for 48 new trademarks, which include monikers like iX750, i320, i530, and M350. The recent trademark filings reveal the automaker's future cars would come named with the prefix ‘i’. The letters like ‘d’, ‘i’ or ‘e’ denote the different types of powertrains like diesel, petrol or electrified hybrid.

The automaker reportedly recently filed trademarks with the German Trade Mark and Patent Office, indicating that the OEM may consider changes to its current product nomenclatures. However, remember that trademark filings do not guarantee that the automaker will use these nomenclatures or implement these changes.

Currently, BMW uses alphanumeric monikers, among which the numbers indicate the model series, followed by a suffix that denotes the powertrain type. CarBuzz reports that the recent BMW trademark filings include names like iX750, X750, and i750. While these badges may seem a little confusing, iX750 may refer to an electric version of the X7, christened as the iX7 and fitted with a ‘50’ powertrain. Meanwhile, X750 could denote an X7 with a ‘50’ powertrain, while the i750 would be used for an i7 with the ‘50’ powertrain.

The auto manufacturer has trademarked other nomenclatures, which include iX130, i120, i530, and i530 xDrive. The latter suggests that BMW will continue to use ‘xDrive’ to signify models with its all-wheel drive system.

BMW’s new naming strategy could extend to its popular 3-Series range too. The trademark filings reveal names such as i320, i330, and i340, indicating that they may be used to denote the various electric powertrains that the 3-Series models will be offered with. Additionally, BMW has also applied for the trademark M350, where the absence of the ‘i’ prefix in the name suggests that the M350 could be an internal combustion engine-powered model, potentially replacing the current M340i.

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