BMW 3 Series Goes Electric as New i3 with 566-Mile Range from £47,925

• BMW’s eighth-generation 3 Series launches with a fully electric version for the first time, the BMW i3, alongside two petrol models sharing one exterior and interior design.
• UK prices start at £44,975 for the petrol BMW 320 and £47,925 for the BMW i3 40 xDrive, with the longer-range i3 50 xDrive covering up to 566 miles on a single charge.
• The electric i3 charges at up to 400 kW, adding up to 263 miles of range in ten minutes, and UK buyers can already order one for autumn 2026 delivery.

A 3 Series That Finally Plugs In

BMW has sold more than 18 million examples of the 3 Series over five decades, and the saloon has never had a pure electric option, until now. The eighth-generation model reaches UK showrooms with four versions built on one design, and for the first time buyers can walk in and drive away in a fully electric 3 Series.

Every version shares the same body and cabin. The choice comes down to what sits under the floor: two electric i3 models or two petrol variants, with a hotter electric M Performance model, the i3 M60 xDrive, arriving in 2027.

Dr Mike Reichelt, BMW’s head of Neue Klasse, Compact and Midsize Class, said the new design carries across changes BMW first introduced on the iX3: “The Neue Klasse is about far more than a single car. With the BMW iX3 we demonstrated for the first time how our new design language could blend the sixth-generation of BMW eDrive technology, BMW Panoramic iDrive and the Heart of Joy into a unique overall experience. Scalable and global, the Neue Klasse innovations are now being rolled out across our entire model range. And with the new BMW 3 Series, we are bringing them to the core of the brand for the first time.”

What the Money Buys

Prices open at £44,975 for the petrol BMW 320 and climb to £66,785 for the six-cylinder M350 xDrive. The electric i3 range starts at £47,925 for the i3 40 xDrive and reaches £53,425 for the longer-range i3 50 xDrive. UK deliveries of the electric i3 begin this autumn; the petrol 320 and M350 xDrive follow from January 2027.

That pricing puts the entry i3 roughly £3,000 above the petrol 320, a gap company car drivers can close through lower Benefit-in-Kind tax bands, which still favour electric vehicles over anything burning fuel.

The Electric i3: A Range Figure That Beats Its Own Rivals

The i3 50 xDrive covers up to 566 miles on a single charge under WLTP testing, a number that puts real distance between it and the rest of the class. BMW’s own i4 eDrive40, the model the 3 Series effectively replaces at the electric end of the range, tops out at 365 miles. Tesla’s Model 3 Long Range, one of the segment’s best-known cars, is rated at up to 466 miles. The new i3 beats both by a wide margin, at least on paper.

A 108.7 kWh battery sits behind that range figure, paired with 469 hp and 645 Nm of torque for a 4.7-second 0-62 mph time. Charging speed matches the headline number: plugged into a suitable 800-volt rapid charger, the i3 50 xDrive pulls up to 400 kW and adds 263 miles of range in ten minutes, a shorter stop than most fuel-station visits.

The entry i3 40 xDrive uses a smaller 82.8 kWh battery for up to 441 miles of range, with a 300 kW peak charging rate that adds 209 miles in the same ten minutes. Both electric models drive all four wheels, an electric motor at the rear doing most of the work with a second motor at the front stepping in when extra grip is needed.

Both cars also run BMW’s new “Heart of Joy” control chip, which the brand says processes driving inputs up to ten times faster than the outgoing 3 Series. One result is a feature called Soft Stop, which uses that extra processing speed to bring the car to a smoother, quieter halt than a standard brake pedal press delivers.

Two Petrol Options for Drivers Who Aren’t Ready to Switch

Buyers who want to stay with petrol get two choices. The BMW 320 pairs a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and mild hybrid assistance, producing 211 hp and 330 Nm of torque for a 7.4-second 0-62 mph time, a 149 mph top speed and 37.7 mpg combined.

The flagship M350 xDrive swaps in a 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine, also mild hybrid assisted, for 443 hp, a jump of 69 hp over the model it replaces, and 580 Nm of torque. That’s good for a 4.1-second sprint to 62 mph and an electronically limited 155 mph top speed, at a claimed 34.5 mpg.

A new feature called Drift Moment, arriving on the M350 xDrive through a software update in 2027, sends all power to the rear wheels for controlled oversteer through corners, a trick BMW previously kept for its full M-badged performance models.

Tech Inside the Cabin

Every version gets BMW’s latest infotainment setup, Panoramic iDrive, running new software called Operating System X. It spans a windscreen-width display, a 17.9-inch central touchscreen and an optional head-up display, with voice control handled by BMW’s assistant boosted by Amazon’s Alexa+ technology.

Standard safety kit across the range, badged Driving Assistant Plus, controls speed and distance from the car ahead with lane keeping support. An optional Motorway Assistant adds hands-free driving on compatible motorways up to the speed limit, though the driver still has to pay attention throughout.

Boot space splits by powertrain: the petrol models hold 450 litres, while the electric i3 offers 420 litres in the boot plus 31 litres under the bonnet, for 451 litres in total. Rear seats fold in a 40:20:40 split across every version, and buyers can pick from up to 11 exterior colours at launch, including a new M Le Castellet Blue.

BMW builds the electric i3 at its Munich plant, the same factory that built the first 3 Series in 1975. The petrol models move production to Dingolfing from November. UK buyers can already configure and order the electric i3 through BMW’s dealer network ahead of autumn deliveries.

Where This Leaves the Rest of the Class

The mid-size saloon and estate class has been the busiest part of the premium market for years, with Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Tesla all fighting over the same buyers. BMW’s answer is to stop treating petrol and electric as separate cars with separate names and separate styling, and instead sell four powertrains under one 3 Series badge, at one showroom, with one design.

For a driver cross-shopping an electric saloon, the range figure alone changes the conversation. A car rated at 566 miles rarely needs a charging stop halfway through a typical UK trip, and even the shorter-range i3 40 xDrive, at 441 miles, sits ahead of most rivals in the segment. For anyone not ready to give up a fuel pump, the 320 and M350 xDrive keep the driving feel BMW built its reputation on, with a mild hybrid system doing the work of trimming fuel bills rather than replacing the engine entirely.