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BMW Teases New Long-Wheelbase Models for China Through 2027
BMW has previewed a China-focused product roadmap showing several camouflaged vehicles arriving before the end of 2027, with long-wheelbase electric and combustion models expected to lead the charge.
By Charlotte Redford · 3 min read
BMW has offered a deliberately cryptic glimpse of its next wave of China-specific models, publishing a product roadmap that shows several vehicles under colourful wraps and scheduled to arrive in the country before the end of 2027. The image, tucked into documentation linked to the company's 2026 Capital Market Day, identifies none of the cars, leaving observers to connect the dots from BMW's known model plans.
The first vehicle is likely to be a long-wheelbase version of the next-generation iX1. The standard-wheelbase model, expected to carry the internal code NB5, is due in 2027, with its stretched NB6 counterpart potentially reaching China in the same period. Both are expected to move to a dedicated electric platform with rear-wheel drive, using sixth-generation electric motors and cylindrical-cell batteries. That combination should deliver meaningful gains in efficiency and range over the current generation.
A second mystery model may be the next-generation 3 Series in long-wheelbase form. BMW has only recently unveiled the global 3 Series G50, but China traditionally receives its own stretched variant, understood to carry the G58 designation. The petrol-powered sedan would sit alongside the electric i3 NA0, which already has a longer-wheelbase version built locally as the NA8.
The facelifted 5 Series and i5 in long-wheelbase guise are also believed to be hiding in the lineup. BMW already builds and sells an extended-wheelbase 5 Series in China, and the current G60 and G68 family is due for a mid-cycle update next year that will bring a Neue Klasse transformation to the range.
These identifications remain educated guesses rather than official confirmations. The document simply places a series of covered cars on a timeline, all arriving before the end of 2027, without names or specifications. A fourth vehicle, wrapped in white, is scheduled for late next year and has yet to be placed, though candidates include the iX4 or an ALPINA 7 Series. BMW reiterated this week that the full-size luxury sedan is coming in 2027, likely under the G72 codename, to further distinguish it from its G70 donor car.
Beyond 2027, BMW has five more cars scheduled to reach China in 2028 alone. By the end of the decade, the company wants 95 per cent of the vehicles it sells in its largest market to be built locally. It is also examining exports of Chinese-made cars to additional Southeast Asian markets.
The long-wheelbase strategy has not been a China-only affair for years, but BMW does not intend to bring these models to Europe or North America, where it says customers have different priorities. For now, the covers stay on, and the company has yet to confirm whether the detective work surrounding its roadmap is accurate.
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