By Staff Reporter

BMW unveiled the fully-electric version of their popular Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV), the X3 and it will make its local debut in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The new BMW iX3 borrows much of its design from the 2018 Concept iX3 which was previewed at the Beijing Motor Show. Unlike the conventional X3, the iX3 will not be built at BMW South Africa’s Rosslyn plant. Instead, the iX3 will be built at a manufacturing facility in Shenyang, China.

Powering the rear-wheel drive only iX3 is BMW’s newly developed fifth generation eDrive electric motor. It produces 210 kW of power, 400 Nm of torque and takes 6.8 seconds to reach 100 km/h. With range preservation in mind, the iX3’s top speed is limited to 180 km/h.

The iX3 has an 80-kWh battery pack (74 kWh is usable) which translate to a WLTP range of 460 km. It has a charging capacity of up to 150-kW at DC fast charging stations which will charge the battery from 0 – 80 percent in 34 minutes. Charging for 10 minutes translates to 100 km.

Pricing is yet to be announced. As stipulated above, the all-new iX3 will be introduced to the South African market late 2021.