Electric BMW M3: price, power and release date, what we know

The electric BMW M3 will be built in Munich from 2027, but BMW has not yet given its price or its power output. The brand has, however, confirmed its technology, taken from the M Concept Neue Klasse, with four electric motors, an 800-volt architecture and a battery of more than 100 kWh.

Until the production car is revealed, we keep what BMW has announced apart from what the press reports, and name the source every time. This article reflects what was known on 28 October 2026.

What is the electric BMW M3?

BMW first showed it as a concept, the M Concept Neue Klasse, unveiled on 12 June 2026 on the eve of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. On 2 October, the brand confirmed that its Munich plant would build the first fully electric M3, the first high-performance model with M Neue Klasse technology.

Neue Klasse is the name of BMW's new generation of electric cars, launched with an SUV and then a saloon. The electric M3 will be its performance version, developed by BMW M. It will not be called iM3: Frank van Meel, the head of BMW M, has confirmed that it keeps the M3 name, without the "i" used on BMW's electric models.

• Internal code: ZA0, according to the specialist press. An estate version, ZA1, is expected according to L'argus.
• Plant: Munich, which will build only electric cars from 2027. BMW is investing around 650 million euros there.
• Sister models: the iX3 and the new i3, the first Neue Klasse cars, whose 800-volt architecture it shares.
• Status: prototypes in testing, no production car revealed yet.

While the electric M3 is on its way, here is the closest electric BMW we already offer.

How much power will the electric BMW M3 have?

BMW has not released any power or acceleration figures. The brand only describes the drivetrain, with four motors, one per wheel, and a computer called Heart of Joy that manages traction and braking at each wheel. In October, BMW M added that the motors sit in two drive units, each with its own gearbox, the most powerful it has ever used, and that the front axle can decouple for rear-wheel drive.

With no official figure, press estimates vary:

• L'argus: around 670 PS, roughly 660 hp, for the production version.
• BMW Blog: between 800 and 900 hp.
• Automobile Propre: more than 700 PS, based on earlier information.
• Carscoops: from 700 to 1,000 PS, according to rumours.

BMW is unlikely to aim for four figures. Frank van Meel explained in July that a four-figure output is easy to generate but hard to sustain, reports BMW Blog, which mentions a target of several track sessions in a row without any loss of performance.

What range and charging speed?

BMW has not announced a range yet. The brand speaks of a battery of more than 100 kWh, made of sixth-generation cylindrical cells adapted by BMW M, in a housing that forms part of the car's structure between the two axles. Thanks to the 800-volt architecture, it should charge faster than the battery of other Neue Klasse models, according to BMW, which has not given a charging power yet.

L'argus believes it will use the battery of the new i3, with 108.7 kWh of usable capacity. Weight would be around 2 tonnes according to the magazine, slightly more according to BMW Blog. That is the main challenge for BMW M, which wants to keep the agility the M3 is known for.

How much will the electric BMW M3 cost?

BMW has not published any price, whether in France, Belgium or Luxembourg. L'argus thinks it is too early to say, but expects a price close to that of the current M3, which starts at 123,100 euros in France. The other outlets we consulted give no figure.

When will the electric BMW M3 be released?

BMW confirms production in Munich from 2027, alongside the new i3. The reveal date is not official. BMW Blog expects the production car in early 2027, and L'argus reports a start of production in March 2027, with first sales in the summer.

Development is well advanced. According to BMW M, the electric drivetrain has been in development for more than eight years, and the prototypes have run on frozen lakes above the Arctic Circle, in the wind tunnel and for about 8,000 km on the Nordschleife. In a video released on 21 October, BMW's development board drives a pre-production car on the Miramas test track in the south of France. Six days later, a prototype was spotted in California, reports BMW Blog.

What will it look like?

The concept gives a fairly accurate idea of the production model. The head of BMW M rated it about 90% representative, reports Automobile Propre. The camouflaged prototypes keep the V-shaped bonnet vent and the square bumper lights that BMW calls Track Lights.

• Front end: headlights and grille combined in a single unit, with a yellow light signature.
• Bonnet: a V-shaped air outlet that helps cool the electric drivetrain.
• Materials: natural fibre instead of carbon for the front splitter, the bonnet outlet and the diffuser.
• Rear: a ducktail spoiler above a diffuser.
• Concept interior: four bucket seats, red harnesses and a floating dashboard in knitted fabric.

Sound is part of the brief. Frank van Meel has confirmed that it will have its own soundscape and simulated gearshifts, which can be switched off according to BMW Blog. There will be no manual gearbox.

Is the petrol BMW M3 going away?

No. BMW will sell electric and petrol M cars side by side, and Frank van Meel repeated it in October: in his view, the choice belongs to the customer, not to BMW. On 2 October, the Munich plant also celebrated its one millionth BMW M car, an M3 painted orange.

The next combustion M3, known by the code G84, would keep an inline six-cylinder engine. It is expected around 2028, about a year after the electric car, according to BMW Blog and L'argus. The current M3 would stay in production until mid-2027, according to BMW Blog.

Our view

BMW is moving step by step, with a concept shown at Le Mans, a plant converted to electric cars and testing on the most demanding circuits, without giving up the petrol M3. The question M3 fans keep asking remains, the one about weight and how it feels at the wheel. The answer will come in 2027, with the technical data and the first drives.

FAQ: the electric BMW M3

In short

• The electric M3 uses the technology of the M Concept Neue Klasse, unveiled at Le Mans in June 2026.
• BMW confirms four motors, an 800-volt architecture, a battery of more than 100 kWh and production in Munich from 2027.
• No official price or power. The press talks of 670 to 900 hp, and a price close to the current M3.
• The petrol M3 carries on, with a new six-cylinder generation expected around 2028.