Saar: The iX3 will become BMW’s first ever vehicle to house a pure electric powertrain.
BMW Concept iX3
China, as we know, is the most prolific automotive market in the world. For several automakers, including BMW, China is their single largest market. And things are only getting better for car manufacturers in our neighbouring country because the government has been extremely supportive of accelerating the transition from conventional to electrified vehicles.
As expected, BMW wants to utilise the favourable conditions and hence, a couple of days ago, extended its alliance with Brilliance Automotive Group Holdings of China. Under the long-term agreement, the joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) will expand its production capacity by adding two local production facilities. That will take the production capacity to 5.2 lakh units per annum by 2019. That’s where BMW will put its first ever pure electric car into production from 2020. And that, ladies and gentlemen, will be the BMW iX3.
BMW Concept iX3
While announcing this, Harald Krüger, chairman of the board of management of BMW AG, said that the all-electric BMW iX3 will be exported to all markets around the world. It makes sense for BMW to produce the iX3 in China because not only it is the largest automotive market globally but also the biggest market for electric vehicles.
BMW showcased the Concept iX3 at the 2018 Beijing Auto Show. The company confirmed that the all-electric Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) will ride on the same platform as the standard X3. BMW also said that the iX3 will feature fifth-generation of eDrive technology, a key benefit of which is the grouping of the electric motor, transmission and power electronics within a new, separate electric drive component.
BMW Concept iX3
As far as the powertrain is concerned, BMW revealed that the iX3 will have 270PS on tap from a 70kWh battery pack and that will be enough for the pure electric car to go up to 400km on a single charge. To cut down charging times, the battery pack could be charged from stations with feeds up to 150kW. At the maximum charging rate, the BMW iX3 can gain all its juices in less than half an hour. BMW says that the iX3 will be the first of many pure electric models that it plans to put into production under its iNEXT project.
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