Andrew Jago (above), BMW’s General Manager of Corporate Sales, says he has been excited by the level of retail requests for the iX3, along with the expected fleet orders for the Neue Klasse SUV, offering a balanced portfolio demand
WITH electric vehicles dominating the fleet charts, thanks to the well-documented BIK advantages, BMW suggests that its new iX3 is changing the balance with retail interest in electric cars increasing.
According to Andrew Jago, BMW’s General Manager of Corporate Sales, orders for the Neue Klasse BMW iX3 have been “balanced” between retail and fleet.
Andrew told Broker News at a special fleet event to unveil the new BMW 7 Series that:
“iX3 has shown bigger retail demand than we expected. It’s fairly balanced between private, small business and corporates.”
He added that “a lot of that is the price positioning being in line with ICE and PHEV products”.
The evidence from BMW supports wider trends in the market. Autotrader reports that one-in-four new car enquiries were for an EV during Q1 2026 and the platform reckoning “that consumer appetite is reaching a critical mass”.
Meanwhile Leasing.com reports similar progress. In April the leasing deal aggregator noted that “EVs accounted for 38.8% of enquiries, showing steady growth in the consumer market. Average monthly rentals reached £285.23, with drivers once again favouring 12 months initial rental across a 24‑month term.”
Meanwhile, May’s new SMMT car registrations show EVs taking over 27% market share, the SMMT pointing to a “gradual shift in consumer demand for new technologies” which was continuing to reshape the market.
Orders for the BMW iX3 started in March with only the 500-mile 50 model initially available. This has now been joined by the 395 mile iX3 40 usefully bringing a lower entry point to the range, a fact Andrew said was helping stimulate salary sacrifice orders.
BMW i3 timeline
With the BMW iX3 beginning to establish itself with both fleet and retail customers, next in line is the BMW i3 Saloon, with a range in excess of 560 miles, which will commence customer deliveries by year end.
“Recognising how successful the BMW i4 has been, we expect the i3 to continue that trend,” says Andrew, with order take starting late August
“The launch product will be high spec and long range – and we can expect competitive pricing,” he adds.
In normal BMW product roll out, the Touring estate model should follow some six months later in 2027.
Andrew Jago’s three key points about the new BMW i3
Broker News asked Andrew to define the three key attributes of the new electric BMW i3.
1 “My first point would be the driving pleasure the new i3 offers – that’s definitely the number one attribute.
2 “After that I would say the range is exceptional with best in class status.
3 “And the third point I would add is the fantastic driver interface with really intuitive technology.
“I’d say those were three really good reasons to consider the new BMW i3.”
Update on BMW going agency
While BMW’s MINI brand went agency over a year ago in March 2025, there’s still no timeline on when BMW will join what it calls “new retail”.
BMW was originally slated to follow MINI by March 2026, a move that was delayed with “adjustments to the timeline”.
When quizzed about an update on the expected move to agency, Jago told Broker News “BMW agency is still some way off. Brokers can access vehicles through retailers that deliver to the broker market.”
For more on BMW agency see below
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Ralph Morton is the leading journalist in the leasing broker sector and editor of Broker News, the website which provides information and news for BVRLA-registered leasing brokers. He also writes extensively on the fleet and leasing market in both the UK and Europe.
