BMW says 1-Series Sedan will be a China-only affair, at least initially

2016 BMW 1-Series sedan / S. Baldauf/SB-Medien

Will be FWD

BMW Australia's head of product and market planning Shawn
Ticehurst has reconfirmed the existence of a 1-Series Sedan.

It was September last year when the 1-Series Sedan was caught
on camera for the first time and now a BMW representative has reiterated the company's plans to launch a sedan version of its entry-level model which was recently facelifted. However, availability will be limited only to
China, but there are some chances of seeing it elsewhere sometime in the future
as Ticehurst responded with "never say never" when asked by Motoring to clearly
confirm the 1-Series Sedan won't make it to Australia.

From what we know so far, the BMW 1-Series Sedan will ride
on the same UKL platform like the 2-Series Active Tourer / Gran Tourer MPV duo
which means it will adopt a front-wheel drive layout. It will be powered by an
array of frugal turbocharged three- and four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines while select
versions are getting an xDrive all-wheel drive system.