The next era of BMW will begin in September with the arrival of the first Neue Klasse electric car: the iX3 SUV.
Confirmed to be revealed at the Munich motor show ahead of sales starting early next year, the SUV - which we've already driven in protoype form - marks major milestones for BMW, as it introduces advanced underpinnings and a design that will be adopted across the rest of the brand.
It will go up against the forthcoming electric Mercedes-Benz GLC – a car that will also be revealed at Munich. The pair will fight for a foothold in Europe’s most hotly contested new car segment in a bid to increase EV sales in the face of tightening emissions regulations.
The new iX3 will be followed soon after by an electric BMW 3 Series saloon, although a date for this unveiling has yet to be confirmed.
Previewed last year by the bold Neue Klasse Vision X concept, the second-generation iX3 will be sold alongside the current, fourth-generation petrol X3 and sit on the all-new Neue Klasse architecture.
As a result, the new iX3 will have slimmer batteries, more efficient motors and clever technology that BMW claims will be a “quantum leap forward” from today’s electric offerings.
The size of its nickel-manganese-cobalt pack – which features new cylindrical cells – has yet to be disclosed, but BMW said the iX3 will offer a range of 497 miles – 210 miles more than the first-generation iX3.
That would make the new iX3 Britain’s longest-range EV, going even farther than the new Mercedes-Benz CLA EQ saloon, which currently tops the charts at 484 miles.
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Ferrari also use that 'eyes on the road, hands on the wheel' mantra, but have recently ditched the haptic controls for actual buttons.
How long before BMW does the same (and hopefully rethinks that hideous steering wheel)?
BMW had the best ergonomics and cabins in the business. Technology has changed, humans haven't much. The job isn't to dump more and more functions on the driver, but integrate these using sound ergonomic principles.