BMW has filed multiple trademark applications with the European Trade Office, which shows that it wants to move away from its current, more complicated name. The names of the next models will be X330 or iX330 instead of the silly “X3 xDrive30i” or “iX eDrive50” that they have now. This will make it much easier to tell the difference between BMWs that run on gasoline and those that run on electricity. BMW has asked for the name “iM3” for future BMW M cars, which could make things even easier. This is according to a new trademark filed with the German patent and trademark office through CarBuzz. Based on the name, it looks like the BMW M3 electric model is the first electric M car to come out. Frank Weber, a member of the BMW board, told Autocar in September that the current inline-six-powered M3 and the Neue Klasse-based iM3 will live for a while, which is why the prefix will be needed at least at first. It will be interesting to see if BMW gets rid of the “i” when the ICE-powered car comes out, which shouldn’t be for another ten years. BMWBlog says that the new BMW iM3 will have four motors that will produce about 700 horsepower and will have the model number ZA0. A BMW iM3 car with the chassis number ZA1 is being worked on, but it won’t come to the US. It’s good to see that BMW is making the names of the new electric chassis for the Neue Klasse easier to understand. In the past, most popular BMWs had names that were fine, which were made up of a set of numbers that showed the cars’ sizes and engines. It’s the right way to go, even if the Neue Klasse names will be more challenging to understand than the old ones. There is also no easier way to say it than “BMW iM3.” We know it won’t have the pointless “Competition” ending at the very least.
