Fully electric BMW SUV due mid 2021

BMW Group says its first fully electric iX3 SUV will be on New Zealand roads by the middle of 2021 – though it will not release pricing and specification until closer to launch.

It is the brands first model yet to be built for export at the Shenyang plant in China, operated by joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive.

The X3 will be the first core model available in New Zealand with the option of  petrol and diesel engines, a plug-in hybrid system and a pure-electric drive system.

The move is part of the brands ‘Power of Choice’ strategy, providing an EV option in existing models, as opposed to spinning off a bespoke model like Audi and Mercedes-Benz have done.

“The idea is that we want to give consumers an experience that’s not too “foreign” and “far” as creating a car/model with a new name/model line with the iX3,” iX3 project head Arno Keller told EVs and Beyond in a media roundtable last night.

“In the end it goes back to the company’s Power of Choice strategy – to give customers an option of multiple powertrains on the same model, offering an ownership experience as close as possible to each other,” Keller says.

BMW says the new iX3 showcases its fifth-generation eDrive technology.

The electric motor, transmission and power electronics on the BMW iX3 are now arranged together in a single housing. The electric motor works according to the principle of a current-excited synchronous motor without the use of magnets.

BMW says there are no precious metals used in the motor manufacturing process.

The power density of the electric motor in the iX3 is 30% greater than that of existing fully electric BMW vehicles and exhibits efficiency of up to 93%.

The new drive system unit generates maximum output of 210kW and peak torque of 400Nm. The rear-wheel-drive iX3 sprints to 100km/h in 6.8 seconds, putting it on equal footing with the conventionally powered BMW X3 xDrive30i.

Energy density of the 188 prismatic cells in the new iX3 is around 20% higher than comparable current BMW Group batteries for fully electric vehicles.

A gross energy content of 80kWh – of which 74kWh is utilised – and the efficiency of the drive systems allow the iX3 to offer a range of up to 459 kilometres in the WLTP test cycle.

The iX3’s charging unit, which sends power to both the 400V battery and the 12V on-board power supply, is another new fifth-generation eDrive technical feature.

When using AC terminals, it enables both single-phase and three-phase charging at up to 11kW. Plugging the vehicle in to a DC fast-charging station further facilitates charging outputs of up to 150kW.

The high-voltage battery in the iX3 can be charged from 0 to 80% capacity in just 34 minutes. Drivers can add up to 100 km of range after 10 minutes of charging.

The iX3 integrates an electrified vehicle lifestyle with product offerings from the BMW 360° Electric programme launched by the Group in 2013.

A newly developed flexible charger cable will be available for the first time on the new iX3 and can be hooked up to both domestic and industrial sockets with adapters.

In addition, a Smart Wallbox will be made available through various partners depending on the market. It can be integrated into an existing home power management system, enabling record-keeping of energy expenditure for home charging.

A BMW charging card will come standard with the new iX3, providing drivers with convenient access to more than 450,000 public charging stations worldwide. In New Zealand the company had had a long relationship with ChargeNet, which has branded some of its DC charging units under BMW’s ChargeNow.

The new cloud-based navigation system, BMW Maps, enables route and arrival times to be calculated with even greater speed and precision.

When planning a route and calculating the arrival time, the E-Route function offers improved recommendations for mid-journey stops to charge the high-voltage battery.

It also provides useful information on charging stations, such as availability, connector type, rate of charging and authentication method required, as well as points of interest in the surrounding area.

The iX3 is equipped with the BMW Operating System 7.0, allowing every line of software code in the car to be updated over the air.