Home » Business » BMW launches (finally) its electric offensive: here is the iX3

BMW launches (finally) its electric offensive: here is the iX3

Jaguar launched it, followed by Audi then by Mercedes, therefore only needed BMW to join the battle of electric SUVs. It’s done with the iX3, unveiled today by the Bavarian brand. Its advantage: a battery with higher energy capacities which promises an interesting autonomy.

This iX3 is the first model in the BMW electric offensive. Certainly the brand already offered the i3 in its catalog, but it is a compact, niche model, unlike this iX3 which must appeal to a large clientele. Its technology lays the foundations for future iNext and i4 electric models which will be introduced in the course of next year.

Classic

Unlike its three competitors in the premium market, BMW has chosen not to develop a specific model to carry its electric technology. The iX3 looks like a classic X3, except for a few details: obstructed grille, specific bumpers and bottom panels with bluish inserts, original rims… Overall, this iX3 conforms to the concept unveiled more than two years ago at the Salon from Beijing in April 2018. The designers did not keep the specific grille of the concept, preferring to bring the series model as close as possible to the versions with thermal engine.

Big battery, little heart

Why then did it take more than two years for the final iX3 to finally arrive? Because the engineers have developed a brand new battery and a new engine specially designed to provide maximum efficiency. So we learn that “the power density of the electric motor has increased by 30% compared to the existing fully electric vehicles of the BMW group; the gravimetric energy density of the high-voltage battery at the cell level increased by 20% “.

Concretely, this translates into a range of 460 km in the WLTP cycle (new stricter certification cycle). It is more than the 436 km promised by the Audi e-Tron yet equipped with a 95 kWh battery, more than the 414 km of the 80 kWh battery of the EQC and hardly less than the 470 km announced by the 90 kWh of the Jaguar i-Pace since the last update. Its battery can be recharged at high power up to 150 kW on a terminal that allows it to recover 100 km in 10 minutes or 80% charge in half an hour.

On the other hand, to arrive at such a result, the Bavarian does not make the outbid of power: with 286 ch, it is much less powerful than the whole of its competitors.

Note also that the iX3 benefits from an audible warning (compulsory on electrics under a certain speed) signed by the famous cinema composer Hans Zimmer.

Made in China

Marketed in the last quarter of 2020, the BMW iX3 will be the first vehicle manufactured by the Chinese factory in Shenyang for export. The manufacturer promises to have reduced its use of rare materials, especially in the design of the engine, and ensures compliance with environmental and social standards in its supply of cobalt and lithium. The basic price of the iX3 in Belgium is set at € 69,950.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.