Bimmerfest has uncovered several trademarks filed by BMW that could be applied to electric vehicles. Intriguingly, the names cover the 3 series, the 4 series, and the 7 series.

Specifically, BMW has trademarked the names i320, i330, i340, i350, i420, i430, i440, i450, i730, i740, i750, and i760 with the German patent office.

The names are interesting because of their overlap with the current BMW lineup. The reversal of the traditional 330i (for example) is noteworthy because it seems to bridge the gap between BMW's current pair of standalone EVs, the i3 and the i8, and the rest of its sedan lineup.

Reports that the i3 won't have a direct successor broke recently, and this may point to why. While it didn't sell like hotcakes, exactly, it sold alright in context. But BMW may want to free up the i3 nomenclature for the 3 series.



BMW is just one of many automakers reckoning with the coming era of electric vehicles. The brand has already promised 12 EVs by 2025 and has teased them with concepts called the i4 and the i7. It is particularly noteworthy then that we found 12 applications.

The nearest to-production of these appears to be the i4, which in spy shots looks not entirely unlike the 4 series gran coupe. In 2018, meanwhile, spy photographers found an electric 3 series testing in the desert, and reports have indicated that the i7 will be a lot like the 7 series.

The evidence seems, therefore, to be pointing towards EVs based on BMW's current lineup. That assumption is consistent with reports from Automotive New Europe, which indicate that BMW is working on flexible platforms that can be used to make gas, hybrid, and electric vehicles.

"To integrate different drivetrains in one plant without losing efficiency, that's the secret," Oliver Zipsem chairman of the board at BMW told AE in a report published this week. "Either you can do that or you cannot. And we can do it."

The nomenclature also throws up another interesting detail. Unlike the traditionally powered 3 and 4 series, the Is go up to i350 and i450. Reports have so far only indicated that there will be three power levels (134, 201, and 335) and this may indicate that there's another just barely sub-M version of the EVs coming, which should be fun.

We may find out what's happening with all of this soon, too. European regulations have meant that BMW wants it to go on sale in 2021, with a reveal coming in 2020.

by Sebastien Bell and Dennis Chung