The BMW 4 Series will remain part of the German auto brand’s lineup for another generation – despite potential overlap with the 3 Series sedan/wagon on which it will continue to be based – and will almost certainly include another hot M4 Coupe performance flagship.
BMW has confirmed an electric version of the next-generation 3 Series, which is expected to be unveiled in late 2026 or early 2027, including a quad-motor electric-powered M3 variant producing as much as 1000hp (746kW).
What appears to be a pre-production hybrid-powered M3 prototype has also been spied testing, with the Bavarian automaker saying it won’t abandon petrol engines anytime soon.
BMW switched to 4 Series naming for the two-door coupe and convertible versions of the 3 Series in 2013, then introduced the four-door Gran Coupe fastback the following year, before the second-generation 4 Series family was launched in 2020.
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But the 4 Series Gran Coupe was axed in Australia in late 2024 and, while the popular i4 electric sedan – a Tesla Model 3 rival – continues on sale here, there has been no official confirmation of a next-generation 4 Series yet, nor has one been spotted testing by automotive spy photographers.
The lack of a next-generation 4 Series would potentially put a new i4 under threat, although the upcoming i3 electric sedan will form part of the next 3 Series lineup, based on BMW’s Neue Klasse dedicated EV underpinnings. The demise of the 4 Series would also spell the end of the M4 badge, a performance car benchmark, in global showrooms.
The demise of the 4 Series would also spell the end of the M4 badge, which currently graces BMW’s mid-size performance coupe and, outside Australia, convertible and Gran Coupe models.
The 3 Series, which notched up 50 years of production in 2025, began life as a two-door model before sedan, wagon and convertible versions were added to the lineup.
German arch-rival Audi followed a similar route, badging two-door coupe, convertible and five-door ‘Sportback’ versions of its A4 sedan and wagon as A5 models, corresponding with BMW’s 3 Series and 4 Series rivals respectively.
However, while Audi has now dispensed with that naming strategy with the latest A5 sedan, and will follow suit with other future models, BMW will carry on the convention by releasing a new 4 Series after the launch of the next 3 Series in about 12 months.
BMW’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Joachim Post, told Autocar both the 3 Series and 4 Series fulfil separate, important roles for the automaker and will continue into the brand’s next generation of vehicles.
“The 4 Series is an important car for us. It’s more sporty [than the 3 Series], and BMW is a sporty brand which has a clear heritage also on the performance side. It will play an important role also for the future,” he told Autocar.
This suggests a new 4 Series will also continue to follow its 3 Series donor model in sharing all-electric and petrol-electric hybrid powertrains.
“It’s not [as] expensive [as] making a completely new car and whenever we make a 3 Series or X3, we still think about the 4 Series or X4 to make it with synergies so that a derivative can be easily built out of the base,” added Mr Post.
As per the 4 Series and 3 Series sedans, the X4 is based on the X3 mid-size SUV but has a sportier tilt, including a swoopier coupe-like roofline compared with the X3’s more conventional wagon design.
“Coming to the X4, for example – and X6 is the same – they will play important roles in the future. That’s why we make cars with huge synergies: from X4 to X3, X6 to X5, X2 to X1,” said Mr Post.
“They are cars which with low effort can be made, which are high synergy and which are an additional opportunity for customers who like the proportions of cars that are a little bit more sporty, more dynamic.”
Mr Post also hinted at a new M4, adding: “These derivatives are very often the base for the sports cars.”
BMW launched the first of its Neue Klasse-based electric models, the iX3, at the 2025 Munich motor show, as it rolls out new-generation versions of its core models employing advanced new powertrains and in-car technology.