BMW levels up its 2026 Tesla Model 3 electric car rival: The 2026 BMW i4 M60 gets even more power, and 2026 BMW i4 eDrive35 gains more range

BMW has globally unveiled some tweaks to its Tesla Model 3-rivalling i4 electric liftback that are set to go into production from July.

Gone is the high-performance BMW i4 M50, and in its place is the new i4 M60.

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BMW claims the i4 M60 is capable of doing the 0-100km/h sprint in 3.7 seconds, which is 0.2 seconds faster than the i4 M50. Total speed is unchanged at 225km/h.

While there is extra power, it has come at the expense of claimed range. The i4 M60 is claimed to be able to travel up to 433km, according to WLTP testing, whereas the i4 M50 was claimed to be able to travel up to 480km, according to WLTP testing.

This is despite all i4s from July production onwards getting silicon carbide semiconductor components, which in the entry-level i4 eDrive35 is claimed to reduce energy consumption by 4.5 per cent and add up to 22km of range.

These latest additions and changes to the BMW i4 line-up follows a minor facelift that was unveiled in April 2024.

At this stage this updated model still hasn’t arrived in Australia.

"Any updates regarding the BMW i4 line-up for Australia will be announced in due course," said a BMW Australia spokesperson.

This update brought subtle exterior revisions including new grille designs, different LED headlight signatures, new alloy wheels, as well as more paint colours.

The car also received the option of Laserlight rear lights in the style of the M4 CSL.

Inside there was a new steering wheel, reduced physical buttons and controls on the instrument panel, new interior trim elements, CraftedClarity glass applications, as well as ambient lighting as standard.

The BMW i4 launched locally back in 2022 as an all-electric counterpart to the 4 Series Gran Coupe, which has been subsequently axed in Australia.

In the first four months of 2024, BMW sold a total of 382 i4 examples, which is down 42.4 per cent year-on-year.

For context, Tesla sold a total of 2266 Model 3 examples over the same period of time. Hyundai also sold 58 Ioniq 6 examples and Polestar sold 179 Polestar 2 examples.