AT LEAST three BMW models will not get a successor and enter the Neue Klasse generation.
BMW has announced 40 launches of the iX3 as part of the Neue Klasse program until 2027. However, there is no room for the three current models among them. All three debuted in 2018 and sold in too few volumes to justify future replacements. You guessed it, it’s the X4, the 8 series and the Z4, Auto Motor und Sport has learned .
The X4 is slowly disappearing from the offer
Starting with the X4, the current generation arrived in 2018 and received a refresh in 2021. Its twin, the X3, received an all-new generation in 2024, but BMW decided not to offer a coupe-SUV version with internal combustion engines.
This decision effectively sealed the fate of the X4, with the smaller X2 taking over as a replacement model. At the same time, there are rumors that a fully electric iX4 is in the works, likely on the same Neue Klasse platform as the iX3.
The X4 is still offered in select markets, and only with diesel options. A BMW spokesperson confirmed the news to Auto Motor und Sport: “The BMW X4 is currently only available with the 20d, 30d and M40d engines. The petrol engines will no longer be produced after September 30, 2025.” The aforementioned diesel versions will cease production in November 2025.
The departure of the beautiful but unwanted Series 8
Another casualty, also quietly confirmed via the configurator, is the 8 Series. Launched in 2018, the luxury coupe received a mild refresh in 2022 with new technology, but it never achieved significant sales. It was available as a coupe and convertible, as well as a four-door Gran Coupe, and it was the latter version that attracted the most buyers.
The 8 Series is still available in the US, but the 2026 model year will be its last. The company recently introduced the M850i Edition M Heritage in a limited run of 500 units worldwide. This particular model could be a kind of farewell version of the 8 Series, which also served as the basis for the special Skytop and Speedtop versions.
The end of BMW roadsters
The third model to be discontinued is the Z4. The Roadster will remain on sale in the US and Europe in sDrive30i and M40i trims until the 2026 model year. Production will end at the Magna Steyr plant in Graz in spring 2026.
Without a planned successor, BMW is completely withdrawing from the roadster segment. Thus, BMW becomes one of the last manufacturers to leave this once popular segment, after Mercedes with the SLK/SLC and Audi with the TT Roadster have already done so.
Fans of the brand are still hoping that the Neue Klasse era will see a new sports model to fill the gap left by the departure of the Z4. Spy photos of the sleek electric coupe from last year further fueled such rumors, although BMW is keeping quiet for now.
In the first eight months of this year, BMW sold 1,916 X4s, 659 8 Series and 2,613 Z4s in Germany. Together, they make up a small fraction of the more than 160,000 BMWs sold in the domestic market.
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