Traditional two-door coupe models are hard to come by in 2025, irrespective of segment or brand. BMW is one of only a handful of brands still in the segment in any meaningful way, but it’s getting harder to shop for a two-door from Bavaria. Of the three coupe models BMW offers — 2 Series, 4 Series, and 8 Series — one, the 8 Series, is nearly entirely phased out production. Another, the 4 Series, is over halfway through a regular BMW production cycle, having been on sale since 2021. And in exclusive talks with Bernd Koerber, Senior Vice President BMW Brand and Product Management, we learned that the brand hasn’t completely decided what’s coming next for the upmarket duo of two-doors.
BMW is Still Planning When It Comes to Coupes
When asked whether or not coupes — historically, a driver-oriented and emotional model rather than one with any sort of practical benefit — still have a home with a brand increasingly focused on electrification, Koerber is non-committal. “We are still in the making of decisions,” he starts. We have 8 Series, we have 4 Series. So, what’s the succession plan? We’re still in there. So, nothing definite.” Dauntingly cautious, although he does emphasize that the brand views internal combustion and electrification on a “continuum.” This could imply EV and gas-powered coupes are on the horizon, but of course, BMW has not confirmed that yet.
Koerber does offer some reassurance when further asked, though. Even better, he acknowledges that even if a product doesn’t necessarily appear in a direct succession, it doesn’t mean BMW left the segment. “We are all car lovers,” Koerber says, “that’s why we will always try to find ways. Even if there’s sometimes, for various reasons, technology, architecture, platform move over, etc, and we create a gap.” He claims the brand always looks into ways around obstacles; or, “how can we make it work?” as he says. That said, Koeber’s aware of what his company ultimately needs to do: sell cars. “Of course, at one point it also has to make economic sense,” he says.
Niche Projects Make Sense Financially
We’ve seen that approach already with highly-limited models, like the Speedtop and Skytop, both which make sense financially at their $500,000 price point. Koerber also discussed the importance of “profitable niche” vehicles. “If we can make it work, we will do it, really,” Koerber says.
The BMW 8 Series ends production some time in early 2026, although exactly when is still unclear sine BMW has not officially communicated that. The 4 Series is also rumored to stay in production until 2028. In the mean time, the Bavarians gave the 4 Series a facelift for the 2025 model year. Normally, facelifts (or LCI, Life Cycle Impulse, in BMW-speak) only come when a car has hit the halfway point in its scheduled production run.
If BMW hasn’t yet committed to a succession path, it may be awhile before we see a truly new version of either. At least now we know it may not be “goodbye,” just “see you later.”
