BMWs kidney grille to stay put in the EV era

KUALA LUMPUR: Domagoj Dukec, BMW's design department head, in an interview with Autoblog told that the iconic double kindly grille design - large or small - will continue to feature even as the automakers move toward the EV era.

Moving forward, BMW will be offering three distinct lines of vehicles - the electric-powered i brand, the core products, and the high-performance M models. While all the three lines of cars are entirely separate from one another in terms of purpose and customer base, the company doesn't want to have three different identities. Dukec told Autoblog, "We want to strengthen BMW as a brand with the help of two sub-brands which have two different roles." Which means the kidney grille will stay.

Now grilles and their size have always been a point of discussion for the brand, more so since the introduction of the new 7 Series and recently arrived X7 that features an upsized grille. Further, with the introduction of BMW Concept 4 with its massive kidney grille, things became more contentious. Even the BMW Concept i4 with its enormous grille got many thinking what's in store for the rest of the lineup.

EVs today don't feature a traditional grille like the one we see on conventional gas-powered cars. EVs require cooling, but there's greater design freedom. One can easily notice the difference in the grille design between Concept 4 and Concept i4, the former features lager openings for cooling.

BMW is now shifting its focus on EVs. By the end of the year, the BMW 4 Series will debut, giving us a look at the automaker's new grille design. When the electric i4 comes along, only then we'll get to see how cohesive the corporate design language is.

Also Read: BMW confirms EV in next-generation 7 Series lineup