BMW's 1-Series Sedan Is Here And It's only for China


Making the transition from the Compact Sedan Concept to the BMW 1-Series Sedan, Bavaria's smallest four-door model is finally here. 

Designed, developed and built solely in the People's Republic by the brand's local joint venture, BMW Brilliance Automotive, the vehicle has mostly remained faithful to the study, design-wise, carrying a more toned-down look in the front, larger side mirrors and wheels that are more suitable for real-world driving. 

Despite becoming official, the BMW 1-Series Sedan is not ready to reveal all of its secrets just yet, though word on the street has it that it rides on the UKL1 platform, the same one that underpins the 2-Series Active Tourer and Gran Tourer and the latest-gen X1. This means that front-wheel drive is standard and the xDrive all-wheel drive is probably part of the options list. Also, we should expect to see the usual crop of 3- and 4-cylinder turbo'd diesel and petrol mills as the two MPVs. 

As BMW's fifth model to be produced in China, it doesn’t stand a chance to be offered outside of this market, but before heading over to the competition to check out the Mercedes-Benz CLA or the Audi A3 Sedan, we have to remind you that Bavaria might have an ace up its sleeve in the form of a 2-Series Gran Coupe, which could be rear-wheel drive-based and come in a range-topping M2 variant as well.

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