The automaker will phase out the use of the letter “i” on gasoline-powered cars and SUVs
- The letter “i” is no longer used for gasoline-powered BMW models. It is reserved exclusively for electric vehicles.
- This change is intended to avoid confusion between electric vehicles (i4) and gasoline-powered models (440i).
- It is unclear whether BMW plans to use a new letter to identify gas-powered vehicles in the future.
For years, BMW used a specific nomenclature to categorize its models. The first digit indicated the market segment of the model range, while the following two digits represented the engine’s displacement in liters, before denoting the “virtual displacement”, essentially indicating the performance hierarchy within the range. The letter at the end denoted the engine technology.
Gasoline-powered cars with fuel injection systems were marked with an “i”, while diesel engines were marked with a “d”. The letter “e” stood for “eta,” meaning energy efficiency, and is now used for hybrid vehicles. However, the brand is changing and shifting its focus to electric vehicles, with the letter “i” now appearing in front of the model range.
The move away from using the letter “i” on gasoline vehicles began with the introduction of the BMW i3. Although the range extender version had a petrol engine, the change was clearly visible: the “i” was now in the foreground. This new convention is reflected in all BMW electric vehicles, such as the i4, i5, i7 and iX. Now the German automaker has confirmed that it will stop using the “i” on gasoline-powered cars in the future.
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Speaking to BMWBlog, Bernd Körber, Senior Vice President BMW Brand and Product Management, said: “Historically, even if our interpretation of BMW i has always been different, it’s about more innovation, not necessarily just electric, and historically we’ve had that at the end the injection.” [of the badge]”We said we’d like to keep ‘i’ as an asset, and we’d like to keep it as a signature to indicate that you’re driving an electric car, and that was the logic we had.”
So the change made here is aimed at limiting confusion between purely electric vehicles like the BMW i5 and the non-electric BMW 540i. Expect that change to arrive later this year, with BMW planning updates to the 1, 2 and X3 series.
While it may seem logical for BMW to introduce a new designation, since diesel models still use the letter “D” and plug-in hybrids are marked with an “E,” it’s worth noting that BMW has previously sold models without additional labeling at all, which could well be the case here. We will know before the end of 2024.
