The BMW Group is systematically pursuing its electrification strategy and will release the new BMW iX3 onto the market by the end of 2020. Standard production of the BMW core brand’s first pure electric model will get underway at the BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture (BBA) in China in late summer as planned.

The testing required for homologation of the new BMW iX3 has now been successfully completed and the results submitted to the regulatory authorities in key automotive markets. More than 340 hours of testing, including over 7700 kilometres of test drives, had to be completed within four weeks.

The electric car is based on the globally successful BMW X3. The BMW iX3 already comes with fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology, including a drive unit with the electric engine, power electronics and transmission highly integrated into a central housing.

A further highlight is the electric motor, which no longer requires the use of rare earths and ensures the BMW Group is not depend on their availability. Also included are new and more powerful high-voltage batteries. Thanks to their scalable, modular design, these can be used flexibly in the respective vehicle architecture and at the respective production locations.

With a range of around 440 km in the WLTP test cycle (preliminary data), the BMW iX3 paves the way for BMW eDrive technology, which will also be used in BMW i4 and BMW iNEXT models from 2021 onward.