BMW’s i range consists of two models for now - the city oriented i3 and the much sportier i8. But there could be since the automaker has trademarked all names from i1 to i9 and has stated the intention to use all of them. None of these badges though, will be the badge of an SUV.

CarAdvice of Australia recently spoke with the manager for the i3 project, Roland Kowalski, who explained that “the thing with the SUVs is nobody, more than 90 per cent, needs four-wheel drive for the city. The SUV trend is only a thing about the space or the roominess.”

Another statement was made by BMW’s vice-president of functional integration and driving dynamics, Jos van As, who commented on the naming policy:

“If you start with i1, what do you do if you want to make a smaller car? A 0.5?” he said, completing the idea with “I think they did it to leave space for something if we want to do something different. And that’s something we’re developing. With the separate i [brand] we take a very deliberate step in one direction if the world is moving towards less emissions, [problems with] petrol availability, etc.”