BMW iX3 readies for series production

By CARSIFU | 10 June 2020


MUNICH: BMW is bent on bringing its first all-electric iX3 model to market by the end of 2020.

The German carmaker announced that its production will get underway at its China-based BMW Brilliance Automotive joint-venture (BBA) plant in Dadong.

BMW says that its first all-electric Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) will begin to arrive in markets by the end of the year following successfully completed tests and the results submitted to the regulatory authorities in key automotive markets.

“This is the first time we have completed the entire homologation process for a fully electric model in China and Europe at the same time. The staff on our testing team mastered this unique challenge with tremendous dedication and efficiency,” said BMW iX3 development head Arno Keller.

 

BMW iX3 preparations for series production - 01


More than 340 hours of testing, including more than 7,700km of test drives, had to be completed within four weeks.

Preparations for production of the BMW iX3 were stepped up in Shenyang in parallel.

BBA has been building iX3 pre-production vehicles at the Dadong plant in Shenyang since the middle of last year.

The 200th pre-production model recently came off the assembly line and test drives on Chinese roads began – allowing development and test engineers to make final adjustments.

“We are right on schedule with our BMW iX3 pre-production vehicles and will launch standard production in late summer, using state-of-the-art technologies such as custom installation of the new high-voltage battery and artificial intelligence for monitoring parts,” explained Dadong BBA plant director Robert Küssel.

“We are also producing the fully-electric BMW iX3 and the BMW X3 with combustion engine on the same production line. This enables us to achieve high efficiency and flexibility in production,” added Küssel.

With the new BMW iX3, the BMW Group is adding another fully-electric vehicle to its portfolio that will not only tap into new customer groups but also arrives on the market at a time when demand for electric vehicles is expanding significantly.

The electric car is based on the globally successful BMW X3 and combines the versatility and robust functionality of a premium mid-size SAV with ground-breaking drive technology for locally emission-free driving pleasure.

BMW iX3 preparations for series production - 02


The iX3 comes ready with BMW's fifth-generation eDrive technology, including a drive unit with the electric engine, power electronics and transmission highly integrated into a central housing.

This significantly reduces the installation space and mass of the drive technology relative to output and offers added flexibility for installing new electric powertrain components in different vehicle derivatives and its iX3's electric motor no longer requires the use of rare earth materials.

The fifth-generation electric drive train also includes new and more powerful high-voltage batteries thanks to their scalable and modular design that can be used flexibly in the respective vehicle architecture and at the respective production locations.

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

Keywords