The BMW 1 Series is a range of

subcompact executive car A compact executive car, also known as a compact luxury car, is a premium car larger than a premium compact and smaller than an executive car. Compact executive car is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in the European car classification. A ...

s (

C-segment The C-segment is the 3rd category of the Euro Car Segment, European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States. ...

) manufactured by

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

since 2004. It is the successor to the

BMW 3 Series Compact The BMW 3 Series Compact was a car which was produced from 1994 through 2004 by BMW. It is a 3-door hatchback version of the BMW 3 Series through two generations, for the E36 platform in 1993 and E46 platform in 2001. Unlike most hatchback comp ...

and is currently in its fourth generation. Positioned as the entry-level model in BMW range of products, the first generation was produced in

hatchback A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...

and

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a Car, passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary across eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air drivin ...

body styles. Since 2014, the coupé and convertible models have been marketed separately as the 2 Series, therefore the 1 Series range no longer includes these body styles. A four-door sedan model became available for the Chinese market in 2017, using the front-wheel drive platform that is also used the basis for the third-generation 1 Series hatchback. A high-performance

BMW M BMW M GmbH, formerly known as BMW Motorsport GmbH, is a subsidiary of BMW AG that manufactures high-performance luxury cars. BMW M ("M" for "motorsport") was initially created to facilitate BMW's racing program, which was very successful in ...

version called the BMW 1 Series M Coupé was produced for the first generation. Due to the 1 Series coupé model being replaced by the 2 Series, the 1 Series M Coupé was replaced by the

BMW M2 The BMW M2 is a high-performance version of the BMW 2 Series automobile developed by BMW's motorsport division, BMW M GmbH. As the 2 Series replaced the 1 Series coupé and convertible models, the first-generation M2 was marketed as the most ba ...

in 2016. For the first two generations, the 1 Series used a

rear-wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-whee ...

layout, while

all-wheel drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. Types The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflects one axle with ...

was introduced as an option since 2012. For the third generation introduced in 2019, the 1 Series switched to a

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of internal combustion engine, engine and transmission (mechanics), transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature ...

layout, while retaining the all-wheel drive option. __TOC__

First generation (E81/E82/E87/E88; 2004)

The first generation of the 1 Series consists of the following body styles: * 3-door hatchback (E81) * 5-door hatchback (E87) * coupé (E82) * convertible (E88) This generation was produced from 2004 to 2013 and is sometimes collectively referred to as the E8x. The E8x replaced the 3 Series Compact as the entry-level models of the BMW range. All models were

, which was a rare configuration in the hatchback market segment. The engines available were four-cylinder turbo-diesel, four-cylinder

naturally aspirated A naturally aspirated engine, also known as a normally aspirated engine, and abbreviated to N/A or NA, is an internal combustion engine in which air intake depends solely on atmospheric pressure and does not have forced induction through a turboc ...

petrol, six-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol and six-cylinder turbocharged petrol (the latter only available on coupé and convertible models). The 1 Series M Coupé is powered by the

BMW N54 The BMW N54 is a twin-turbocharged straight-six petrol engine that was produced from 2006 to 2016. It is BMW's first mass-produced turbocharged petrol engine and BMW's first turbocharged petrol engine since the limited-production BMW M106 was disc ...

turbocharged inline-six engine and uses a six-speed manual transmission. It was produced in only the coupé body style and is considered the predecessor to the

. File:BMW 120d (E87) – Frontansicht, 15. April 2012, Mettmann.jpg, BMW 1 Series (E87) File:BMW 1-Series coupe -- 12-15-2011.jpg, BMW 1 Series Coupé (E82) File:BMW 1er M Coupé (E82) – Frontansicht, 1. Juni 2013, Düsseldorf.jpg, BMW 1 Series M Coupé (E82) File:BMW 118i Cabriolet (E88) – Frontansicht, 15. April 2012, Mettmann.jpg, BMW 1 Series Cabriolet (E88)

Second generation (F20/F21; 2011)

The second generation of the 1 Series consists of the following body styles: * 5-door hatchback (F20) * 3-door hatchback (F21) From this generation onwards, the coupé and convertible models have been marketed separately using the

BMW 2 Series The BMW 2 Series is a range of subcompact executive cars (C-segment) manufactured by BMW since the year 2014. The 2 Series was created when BMW spun-off the 2-door models (coupé and convertible) of the BMW 1 Series into a separate series. Th ...

nameplate. This generation was produced from 2011 to 2019 and is often collectively referred to as the F20. The F20/F21 was initially powered by

inline-four A straight-four engine (also referred to as an inline-four engine) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout ( ...

petrol, inline-four diesel and

inline-six A straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balanc ...

petrol engines. In 2015, inline-three petrol and diesel engines were added to the model range. All engines are

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...

. Unlike most hatchback competitors, the F20/F21 uses

(rather than front-wheel drive) for most models. The F20/F21 is the first 1 Series to offer an optional

(called "

xDrive BMW xDrive is the marketing name for the all-wheel drive system found on various BMW models since 2003. The system uses an electronically actuated clutch-pack differential to vary the torque between the front and rear axles. Models with the DPC t ...

" by BMW).

Third generation (F40; 2019)

The third generation of the 1 Series was released in 2019. Unlike the previous generation F20 1 Series, the F40 1 Series uses a front-wheel drive configuration with an all-wheel drive option, and sharing its platform with the F48 X1, F39 X2, 2 Series Gran Coupé, and others. The F40 1 Series is only available as a 5-door hatchback.

Fourth generation (F70; 2024)

The fourth generation of the 1 Series was officially unveiled on 4 June 2024 and set to commence production later in 2024. Like its predecessor F40 1 Series, the F70 1 Series is based on the front-wheel drive based UKL2 platform and comes solely as a 5-door hatchback. Despite using a different internal codename to its predecessor, the F70 1 Series is a heavy refresh of the F40 1 Series instead of a complete redesign.

China-market sedan (F52; 2017)

The 1 Series (F52) is a four-door sedan that began production in 2017 in China. The F52 has been built specifically for the Chinese market by

BMW Brilliance BMW Brilliance (officially BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd.) is an automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Shenyang, China, and a joint venture between BMW (as majority holder) and Brilliance Auto. Its principal activity is the productio ...

, a joint venture between BMW and

Brilliance Auto Huachen Automotive Group Holdings Co. Ltd., known by its brand name Brilliance Auto Group, is a Chinese multinational automobile manufacturer holding company headquartered in Shenyang. Its products include automobiles, microvans, and automotive c ...

. Unlike other BMW 1 Series cars of the time, it uses the front-wheel drive UKL platform. The F52 was later sold in Mexico in 2018. Production of this model ended in 2023.

Production and sales

References

{{BMW cars: 2000s–2010s 1 Series Compact cars Hatchbacks Convertibles Coupés