Electric BMW iX3 coming this year

The BMW iX3 with an estimated 440km range is expected on the global market by the end of 2020.

It will be produced on schedule at the BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture (BBA) in China and features BMW’s fifth-generation eDrive technology, a motor that no longer requires rare earth materials and which will also be used in BMW i4 and BMW iNext models from 2021.

The testing required for homologation of the new BMW iX3 has been successfully completed and the results submitted to regulatory authorities in key automotive markets.

Preparations for BMW iX3 production were stepped up in Shenyang in parallel. BBA has been building BMW iX3 pre-production vehicles at Plant Dadong in Shenyang since the middle of last year. The 200th pre-production model recently came off the assembly line and test drives on Chinese roads began – allowing development and test engineers to make final adjustments.

“We are right on schedule with our BMW iX3 pre-production vehicles and will launch standard production soon, using state-of-the-art technologies such as custom installation of the new high-voltage battery and artificial intelligence for monitoring parts,” BBA Dadong plant director Robert Küssel says.

“We are also producing the fully-electric BMW iX3 and the BMW X3 with combustion engine on the same production line, enabling us to achieve high efficiency and flexibility in production.”

The BMW X3 is the brand’s first model available with both conventional petrol and diesel engines, a plug-in hybrid system or a pure electric drive train. This “Power of Choice” approach allows the company to respond to the different needs and wants of its customers worldwide and maximise its impact in reducing global CO2 emissions, BMW Group says.

The fifth-generation electric drive train also includes new and more powerful high-voltage batteries.