BMW China announced on August 6, 2026 that cumulative sales of the 3 Series in China have surpassed 2 million units, a milestone the company paired with news that the new-generation BMW i3 will make its full China debut at the Chengdu Auto Show later this month.BMW's 2 million-unit milestone, released August 6, 2026 (BMW)The 3 Series has held the top sales spot in China's luxury midsize sedan segment for 21 consecutive months, according to BMW China's statement. Earlier this year, on March 3, 2026, BMW launched a "Year of the Horse" special edition of the 2026 3 Series priced from 318,000 CNY (c. $47,100), part of a broader effort to keep the sedan competitive as the brand pivots toward electric Neue Klasse products.The 3 Series debuted in 1975 and has gone through seven generations, accumulating more than 10 million sales worldwide, making it one of BMW's most recognizable nameplates. To mark the 2-million milestone in China specifically, BMW said it would roll out financing incentives and customer benefits aimed at drawing new buyers into the 3 Series lineup. Reporting ahead of the 2026 refresh indicated the next 3 Series generation will keep an upgraded version of BMW's existing CLAR platform rather than move to Neue Klasse, while borrowing design cues from the i3 and iX3 inside the cabin, including BMW's latest infotainment software and a Panoramic iDrive head-up display. That positions the combustion and plug-in 3 Series to keep selling alongside, rather than being replaced by, the electric i3 in the near term.That milestone doubles as a handoff. BMW said the 3 Series is entering a "new chapter" as the new-generation i3 prepares to headline the brand's presence at the Chengdu Auto Show, which runs August 21 to 30, 2026 at the Western China Expo City. The new i3 and its SUV sibling, the iX3, are the first Neue Klasse models developed specifically in China for the Chinese market, built on BMW's next-generation pure-electric architecture rather than a converted combustion platform. Globally, BMW first revealed the new i3 in March 2026 as its first Neue Klasse sedan. The car runs on an 800V high-voltage architecture paired with BMW's sixth-generation eDrive system. The launch variant, the i3 50 xDrive, combines an asynchronous induction motor with a synchronous excited motor for all-wheel drive, producing a combined 345 kW (462 hp) and 645 N·m of torque, drawing on a 108 kWh battery pack.Under the WLTP test cycle, that configuration is rated for up to 900 km (559 miles) of range. Charging at up to 400 kW lets the car add roughly 400 km (249 miles) of range in 10 minutes, with a 10-80% charge taking about 21 minutes. For the China-market long-wheelbase version debuting at Chengdu, BMW China's August 6 statement cited a CLTC range exceeding 1,000 km (621 miles), a figure measured under China's more lenient test cycle rather than WLTP and therefore not directly comparable to the global car's rating.The current G20-generation 3 Series, the nameplate behind BMW's 2 million-unit China milestone (BMW)Inside, the long-wheelbase i3 carries over the driver-centric cabin BMW has introduced across its Neue Klasse lineup, expected to pair a white-and-grey color scheme with the brand's Panoramic iDrive+ system. The setup pairs a 17.9-inch borderless center display with a 43.3-inch panoramic Vision Bridge display at the base of the windshield, a 3D head-up display, and a dedicated multifunction steering wheel. Standard comfort features include tri-zone automatic climate control, power-adjustable seats, and a Harman Kardon sound system. BMW's self-developed "Driving Control Super Brain" also debuts on the new i3, integrating the powertrain, brakes, energy recovery, and steering into a single control system. BMW says the setup responds roughly ten times faster than the outgoing generation, translating into what the company describes as millisecond-level responsiveness.The long-wheelbase i3 is scheduled to enter production at BMW Brilliance, the automaker's joint venture in China, in the fourth quarter of 2026. Once it reaches showrooms, it will compete against a crowded field of premium electric sedans in China, including the Tesla Model 3, Nio ET5, and Xiaomi SU7, in a segment where local brands have increasingly undercut legacy automakers on price and feature count.The Neue Klasse i3's closed grille and fastback profile, ahead of its Chengdu debut (BMW)The i3 arrives alongside a related Neue Klasse SUV, the iX3 Long-Wheelbase, which BMW is also expected to bring to pre-sale at Chengdu ahead of fourth-quarter deliveries. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has already published energy-consumption filings showing the iX3 Long-Wheelbase rated for a CLTC range of 919 km (571 miles) at 13.6 kWh/100 km, with a combined output of 351 kW (477 hp) from its dual-motor setup. The two models share the same 800V architecture, cylindrical-cell battery packs, and China-specific design cues, underscoring how central the domestic market is to BMW's Neue Klasse rollout. That rollout comes as BMW works to stabilize its China business. BMW Group's global deliveries fell 4.2% in the first half of 2026 to roughly 1.157 million vehicles, with China sales down approximately 20% to about 261,800 units, according to the company's own first-half sales figures. The 3 Series milestone and the i3's China debut give BMW two data points to lean on as it tries to reverse that slide with Neue Klasse-based products built specifically for local buyers.Whether the new i3's range, charging speed, and China-tailored cabin are enough to win back share from domestic EV brands will start to become clear once BMW confirms pricing and opens orders after the Chengdu show. Conversion rate: 1 USD = 6.75029 CNY as of August 6, 2026.