BMW has revealed details of the launch line-up for its iX SUV – the company’s all-electric Tesla Model X rival – which will go on sale in the UK towards the end of 2021! Two versions will be available, both with different-sized battery packs, different power outputs and charging standards. The range kicks off with the BMW iX xDrive40, which will be priced from £69,000 RRP in the UK – an on-the-road price has not been revealed yet.
It is the first model based on a new, modular, scalable toolkit on which the future of the BMW Group will be built. The development and production of the BMW iX follow an all-encompassing approach to sustainability involving compliance with strict environmental and social standards in the extraction of raw materials, plus the use of electricity from renewable sources and a high proportion of recycled materials in the mix.
“Technology is driving the advances we need to tackle even the greatest challenges. This applies in particular to climate protection… We are in no doubt: mobility has to be sustainable if it is to represent a truly outstanding solution. For the BMW Group, premium mobility is not possible without responsibility.” Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.
The BMW iX is leading the way for a future generation of cars with which the company is redefining sustainability, driving pleasure and what it means to be premium. This trailblazing character is clearly expressed in the car’s design, which has been developed from the inside out. The BMW iX has been created to provide quality of life and wellbeing for drivers and passengers.
“The BMW iX shows how we can give new technologies a very modern and emotional design. The car is technologically complex, but it feels very clear and uncomplicated,” Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design.
The iX makes use of BMW’s fifth-generation eDrive electric motors, which are more compact and power dense than the units you’ll find in an i3, for example.
The xDrive40 model uses a battery with ‘more than’ 70kWh of usable capacity, providing power to a four-wheel-drive electric motor system with around 300bhp. BMW claims that 0-62mph takes six seconds, and there’s a WLTP range of 249 miles from a full battery. Rapid charging at 150kW will be standard, so a 10-80 per cent recharge in 40 minutes is possible.
BMW claims a range of 373 miles on a full battery for the xDrive50 according to WLTP, eclipsing the 360 miles that Tesla claims for the Model X Long Range! Could this be the SUV to topple Tesla’s control of the EV market?
