First BMW iX in NZ Q4

The first all-electric BMW iX will arrive in New Zealand in Q4 this year via two model variants – the iX xDrive40 and BMW iX xDrive50.

Pricing and specifications will be announced nearer the launch.

It’s also the first model to feature the new BMW iDrive system, including BMW Operating System 8.

The BMW iX xDrive50’s battery has a gross energy content of more than 100kWh, while the battery unit for the BMW iX xDrive40 is more than 70kWh.

This provides the BMW iX xDrive50 with at least 600km range and the BMW iX xDrive40 with more than 400km range (WLTP).

Undergoing its final phase of series development, the Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) is the first model based on a new, modular and scalable toolkit on which the future of the BMW Group will be built.

BMW iX production follows sustainable practices involving compliance with strict environmental and social standards in raw material extraction, using electricity from renewable sources and a high proportion of recycled materials.

The BMW Group procures the cobalt and lithium required for the high-voltage batteries from controlled sources in Australia and Morocco before supplying them to the battery cell manufacturers, while battery cells are made at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing using exclusively green power from certified sources.

Since February the company has procured aluminium manufactured using electricity from solar energy plants.

Rare earths can be avoided in making the electric motors.

The car’s interior features FSC-certified wood, leather tanned with olive leaf extracts and other natural materials while mats are recovered fishing nets.

“We are in no doubt mobility has to be sustainable if it is to represent a truly outstanding solution,” BMW AG management board chair Oliver Zipse says.

BMW AG management board member Pieter Nota says the market launch of the BMW iX starts at the end of this year with the BMW iX xDrive40 and BMW iX xDrive50.

In the BMW iX xDrive50, the drive system – which features one electric motor on the front axle and another at the rear axle – produces total output of more than 370kW and enables acceleration to 100km/h in less than 5.0 seconds.

The BMW iX xDrive40 has an output of more than 240kW, allowing it to sprint to 100km/h in about 6.0 seconds.

A single housing integrates the electric motor, transmission and power electronics, helping optimise aerodynamics and benefitting the drive system’s efficiency.

The result is average electric power consumption in the WLTP cycle of less than 21kWh per 100km for the BMW iX xDrive50 and less than 20kWh per 100km for the BMW iX xDrive40.

The BMW iX xDrive50 can recharge at up to 200kW, while the maximum charging capacity of the BMW iX xDrive40 is 150kW, a 10-minute plug-in time adding more than 120km and 90km range respectively.

In both model variants, the high-voltage battery’s charge can be increased from 10 to 80% in less than 40 minutes.

The NMW iX’s new technology toolkit underpins further advances towards automated driving, with around double the amount of data from vehicle sensors processed than was previously possible.

It is also 5G capable and will get improved automated driving and parking functions.

“The BMW iX offers a mobile living space in which people will feel at ease, where the car’s intelligence is only there when you need it,” BMW Group Design senior vice president Adrian van Hooydonk says.