| BMW UKL platform | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | BMW |
| Parent company | BMW Group |
| Production | 2014–present |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Subcompact car Compact car |
| Layout | Front-engine, front-wheel-drive Front-engine, all-wheel-drive |
The UKL platform (Untere Klasse, "lower class" in German)[1] is a modular automobile platform developed by German car manufacturer BMW. It is a modular architecture to suit a range of front-wheel-drive and all-wheel drive models.
The objective of the front-wheel-drive UKL platform is to offer smaller models with a large interior space, with enough room for passengers in the rear seats and large cargo space. These objectives are only possible to achieve by mounting transverse three or four-cylinder engines.[2] At the time of release, BMW announced that any model under 4.5 m (177 in) in length and smaller than a 3 Series will make use of the UKL platform.[3] According to Ian Robertson, BMW sales and marketing chief, "One of the big advantages of UKL is that we are able to launch a lot of products almost simultaneously because we are doing the engineering at once."[4]
The platform has two derivatives: the UKL1 and UKL2. The first production vehicle to use the UKL platform is the 2014 Mini Hatch.[5] Another UKL platform derivative is the FAAR platform which was announced in 2017. It is designed with pure ICE, hybrid and electric powertrains in mind.[6]
Vehicles using platform (calendar years):
The UKL2 platform is the larger version of the UKL platform. It debuted with the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer in 2014. The platform supports wheelbase length of 2,670 mm (105.1 in), and extendable to 2,780 mm (109.4 in) for long-wheelbase models.[2]
Vehicles using platform (calendar years):