The BMW Gran Coupe has been scheduled for production in 2021

BMW made a commitment to electric vehicles and challenging Tesla in the luxury electric vehicle space.

Today BMW took their first public step towards that goal, revealing their BMW Concept i4—more so a production vehicle than concept—in an early morning online press event.

Series production of the new BMW i4 will begin in 2021 at the BMW Group’s main plant in Munich. This means that, in the future, combustion-engined vehicles, plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles will be manufactured on the same assembly line in Munich.

Integrating the BMW i4 into the existing production system represents a challenging task for Plant Munich. The body concept of the BMW i4 differs from the architectures of the vehicle models produced at the plant to date due to the need to accommodate its high-voltage battery. Approximately 90 per cent of the existing production equipment in the body shop can be incorporated into the process, i.e. adapted to manufacture of the i4. However, the remaining ten per cent – especially the machinery involved in building the rear structure – will need to be newly built.

The fifth generation of BMW eDrive brings a newly designed high-voltage battery with the very latest battery cell technology. The version of the battery developed for the BMW i4 has a slim construction and optimised energy density. It weighs roughly 1200 pounds, has an energy content of around 80 kWh and achieves an estimated EPA range of 270 miles.

The vehicle's interior reflects the luxury that drivers expect from BMW.

The information display and Control Display have been merged into a single unit oriented towards the driver. Advanced display tech with non-reflective glass also removes the need for a shroud to shade the displays and therefore contributes to an extremely uncluttered and airy cockpit.

Almost all operating functions are integrated into the display as part of an overall approach centred on reducing the number of haptic controls to the minimum. Even the climate control system now works by touch control.

Few technical details were released, with more information coming closer to actual production.