BMW builds its one-millionth M car as the first electric M3 heads for Munich production

BMW has built its one-millionth M car, a milestone reached as the brand prepares its first fully electric M3. The landmark vehicle is an M3 painted in BMW Individual Fire Orange III, assembled at BMW Group Plant Munich and presented at an official ceremony earlier this month.

The achievement lands more than 50 years after BMW M was founded and 40 years after the original M3 went on sale. The same Munich plant will become the exclusive production site for the first fully electric M3, which will run on BMW's next-generation Neue Klasse technology.

Munich has built the current-generation M3 since 2020, and BMW says the model holds special significance for the plant's workforce. From 2027 the factory will produce only fully electric models, with BMW investing around €650 million (A$1.05 billion) in the transition. The money funds a new body shop and vehicle assembly facilities across roughly a third of the site.

BMW frames the investment as a push for production efficiency through modern manufacturing processes and digitalisation, alongside closer cooperation with development teams and suppliers.

What the electric M3 will look like

The electric M3 will be the second Neue Klasse model built in Munich, following the upcoming BMW i3 electric sedan. BMW previewed its electric performance direction with the Concept Neue Klasse M, unveiled in June 2026 ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The concept shows a quad-motor drivetrain with one motor per wheel, paired with BMW M Dynamic Performance Control software running on the company's Heart of Joy vehicle control computer. BMW says the setup allows independent control of power delivery and braking at each wheel for more precise torque management.

Full production specifications have not been confirmed. Pricing for the electric M3 has not been announced either, so buyers will need to wait for BMW's reveal for local market figures.

Petrol and electric M3s side by side

BMW M chief executive Franciscus van Meel marked the milestone by pointing to the division's future as much as its past. “The one-millionth BMW M vehicle shows that these values are still very much appreciated by our customers, 40 years after the market launch of the first BMW M3,” he said. “This motivates us to continuously develop our BMW M high-performance vehicle portfolio based on BMW M Neue Klasse technology, including fully electric models, in line with our core brand promise.”

The coexistence of petrol and electric M3s matters for buyers because it keeps a familiar combustion option on sale while the electric version arrives, rather than replacing it outright. The catch is that the electric car's price, range and output are all still unconfirmed, so the comparison between the two remains theoretical until BMW publishes specifications.

For now the concrete facts are the millionth car itself, the €650 million plant conversion and a 2027 date for electric-only production in Munich.

The revived Holden Dealer Team is working on three prototypes of a new road car, according to owner Kenny Habul, who says the project is still in its early stages. The HDT name is best known for the Brock Commodores of the 1980s, the street-legal production cars that funded Peter Brock's purchase of the race team at the end of 1979.

Habul, a two-times Bathurst 12 Hour winner and friend of Brock, told media this week that a team is in place and the prototypes are under way, while cautioning that much work remains before an HDT-reimagined car can be shown publicly.

"It's early days but we have a team. We're working on three prototypes at the moment," Habul said. "There is a lot of work to do before we have an HDT-reimagined car to present, but there is a fundamental recipe that I think will be very impressive".

No details of the car itself have been released: no base vehicle, powertrain, timing or price has been confirmed, and Habul has not said when the prototypes will be shown.

What the HDT name carries

The road car business grew out of HDT's roots as a Bathurst 1000-winning motorsport operation, with sales of street-legal production cars created to fund Brock's purchase of the race team at the end of 1979. HDT Special Vehicles road cars were built under the ownership of Brock, the nine-times Bathurst winner widely regarded as Australia's most celebrated driver, who was killed in a tarmac rally accident in 2006.

That history is exactly why the new project carries risk. The brand's followers are famously devoted, and any new car will be judged against machines that have taken on near-sacred status among enthusiasts. Habul's comments suggest he understands the scale of the task.

A precedent in Premcar's Falcon

The closest recent template is the Ford Falcon FG X, the last Aussie-made production hot rod, completed in 2018 by Melbourne engineering firm Premcar, whose staff previously helped create FPV muscle cars for Ford.

Premcar boss Bernie Quinn said he had followed news of Habul's purchase with curiosity and optimism, and offered a warning about speculation. "It's tempting to try and second guess what the car looks like and start imagining a specification, however, that is the most dangerous thing to be doing," he said. In his view, the people who succeed in this space are the ones who understand what the customer wants.

The comparison is instructive rather than predictive: Premcar's Falcon worked because it was an engineering exercise with a clear donor car and a defined era to honour. A new HDT model has no confirmed donor vehicle, and Holden itself no longer builds cars in Australia, so the mechanical starting point is the first big unknown. Until Habul names a base and a timeframe, the three prototypes are a promise rather than a product.