BMW first introduced the M235i name on the 2 Series Coupe for the 2014 model year, as the range-topping M Performance version of the new compact coupe. It soon expanded to the 2 Series Convertible, giving BMW buyers a small rear-wheel-drive performance car with a clear enthusiast focus and a more accessible position below full M models. That first M235i era ran through the mid-2010s and was closely associated with the first-generation 2 Series two-door models.
After that initial run ended, BMW later revived the name for a very different body style: the 2 Series Gran Coupe. When the four-door coupe launched for 2020, BMW again used the M235i badge, this time as M235i xDrive, reflecting the car’s all-wheel-drive layout and its place at the top of the non-M Gran Coupe lineup. In later model years, BMW shortened the naming to M235 xDrive Gran Coupe in some markets while keeping the same basic role in the lineup.
Because the nameplate was discontinued and then returned on a different 2 Series body style, the M235i should be treated as a nameplate with multiple production periods rather than one uninterrupted model run. It is best understood as BMW’s compact, M Performance-oriented step below the full M cars, and one of the clearest examples of how BMW has used the 2 Series to bridge everyday usability and enthusiast driving character.