It definitely has some CANbus in it. However I believe that is only for the ECU to talk to the SMG gearbox (if fitted, mine's a normal manual). For diagnosing all the other stuff (HVAC, airbags, body computer etc) they all only connect to the standard K/L line bus.

It's a 98 E36 M3. Being a Euro-spec it's quite a different car to the US spec one. In particular the engine and ECU are totally different. Same body, but underneath, the engine, gearbox, brakes etc are all different.

All the carsoft stuff only uses the slow speed K and L line interface from what I can see.

I wasn't aware that KWP2000 was German. Most things I've read point to (older) European cars having ISO9141 if anything. All the new stuff is becoming CANbus though as you're aware.

And of course standards don't mean a lot anyway.