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It's no secret: Manual-transmission cars are a dying breed. The three-pedal, shift-it-yourself gearbox is available on just a small handful of new vehicles, and while there has been some recent good news with regards to market share, it's only a matter of time before the stick shift is gone forever. BMW's M division is one of the few brands that still offers a manual option, but it warns the choice will disappear soon.
German car giant BMW appears unlikely to follow Hyundai and other car makers in designing simulated petrol engine sounds – and fake manual transmissions or automatic gear shifts controlled by software – in its high-performance electric cars.
BWM recently filed a trademark for the name “iM3”, which has the masses anticipating the fabled electric M3, but the M division’s CEO says otherwise.
Toyota is diving headlong into simulated manual transmissions for future EVs, and dozens of automakers are using fake engine noises for theirs, but BMW's head of R&D, Frank Weber, has spoken out against both sets of technologies, implying they're gimmicky and not in the spirit of the way BMW does things.
The head of BMW M Division has ended speculation the ‘iM3’ badge will be used for an electric version of the company’s famous M3 sports car.
A couple of months ago, BMW filed a few different trademarks with the European trademark office, which indicated a switch to a simpler nomenclature than it currently uses. Rather than the «X3 xDrive30i» or «iX eDrive50» nonsense you see on current Bimmers, upcoming cars will get names like X330 or iX330, making it far easier to differentiate electric BMWs from combustion ones. According to another new trademark filed with the German patent and trademark office via CarBuzz, upcoming BMW M cars could be even simpler, as the Bavarians recently filed for the «iM3» name.
BMW M boss Frank van Meel says no BMW M electric car will use the letter “i” in its name.
CarBuzz divers looking for pearls in trademark office databases have found another one, or two, depending on how you see it: BMW appealed to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and to Germany's Deutsches Patent und Markenamt (DPMA) office to reserve the term 'iM3.' Everyone's best guess is that this will be the name of the electric M3 that further breaks open the Neue Klasse era that begins with the next-generation X3 SUV and i3 sedan due in 2025.