Like a big wave crashing onto the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, the great EV push from Europe is creeping ever closer on the horizon. With Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and even Jaguar Land Rover leaping into the EV fray, Europe is boldly marching into an electrified future, where solely gas-powered engines are getting left in the dust.
While America will be the focus of an EV onslaught in the near future, automakers from around the world gathered in Beijing, home to the largest automotive market in the world, this week to debut their latest and greatest cars and concepts.
For BMW, the stage was set to introduce its first ever fully-electric crossover SUV: the iX3 concept.
Essentially a BMW X3 crossover powered by energetic electrons instead of combusting gasoline, the iX3 concept plays a crucial role in the Bavarian automaker’s electrification strategy to introduce 25 electrified vehicles, including 12 fully-electric models by 2025.
There are some key differences between the iX3 and the standard X3. In place of the traditional BMW kidney grille design resides a new, more futuristic connected kidney grille similar in design to the i Vision Dynamics concept, which debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September. As some automakers have found out in the research and development stage of their EVs, batteries get hot too, and need aerodynamic grilles to keep them cool, calm and collected on the road.
Power comes by way of a 70 kWh battery, which BMW claims gives the iX3 about 249 miles of all-electric range on the European cycle. While the cycle stayed close to the EPA estimates for the Chevrolet Bolt EV (NLTP’s 240-mile range vs. EPA’s 238-mile range), the same couldn’t be said for the Hyundai Kona Electric’s 250-mile EPA estimate falling far short of the WLTP’s 292-mile range. In either case, we’ll most likely find out the iX3’s EPA-estimated range closer to its launch date
With 270 horsepower, the iX3 is more powerful than the 2.0-liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder, 248-horsepower engine found in the base trim X3 sold in the U.S. Thanks to fast-charging capability, the iX3 concept can recharge in as little as a half hour.
When the iX3 hits production in 2020, it will be built in Shenyang, China for the global market, and its platform will be shared with the upcoming 435-mile range iNext EV slated to arrive in 2021, along with the rest of BMW’s electrified vehicles planned for the next decade.
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