Made in China: New chapter for BMW in new electric iX3

The German brand is preparing to take on Tesla with its new electric vehicle, but one move shows the huge change coming to cars.

BMW’s iX3 electric SUV arrives locally in 2021.

BMW’s first family-friendly electric car takes a different approach to key rivals.

The new BMW iX3 arrives well after Tesla’s groundbreaking electric car range and the European Audi e-tron, Mercedes EQC and Jaguar I-Pace trio, forgoing all-wheel-drive performance in favour of a cheaper rear-drive layout.

It also wears three words new to BMW owners: Made in China.

BMW’s new iX3 electric SUV.

Built in Shenyang in a joint venture between BMW and Brilliance Automotive, the iX3 represents a change in approach from the brand.

Originally opened under the motto “in China, for China”, the concern built the bulk of BMW models sold in China before expanding to become the global source of iX3 electric models.

While the brand’s heritage is undoubtedly German, BMW has plants all over the world – the X5 large SUV comes from North Carolina and Australia’s 3-Series models were sourced from South Africa until 2018.

BMW has invested heavily in Chinese production facilities.

The new iX3 represents a departure in other ways.

BMW’s first electric cars, the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 sports car and i3 hatchback, were bold designs with carbon fibre construction and little in common with other models in the showroom.

But the new iX3 is effectively a battery-powered version of the popular X3 luxury SUV: luxurious, practical and familiar to hundreds of thousands of customers around the globe.

Powered by a single electric motor driving the rear wheels, the new BMW iX3 offers 210kW and 400Nm outputs.

A floor-mounted battery drives the rear wheels in the BMW iX3 electric SUV.

That’s enough to reach 100km/h in 6.8 seconds, which is much slower than more powerful all-wheel-drive rivals.

But the brand says its choice of layout creates “a classic BMW driving experience” similar to that of the highly-regarded 3-Series and 5-Series sedans. Adaptive suspension and a low centre of gravity should help deliver on that promise.

Blue exterior highlights make it easy to spot the electric iX3.

An 80kWh battery offers an impressive 460 kilometres of claimed range using the strict WLTP test cycle. BMW says that translates to around 520km of real-world use.

The car’s electrical hardware is engineered to cope with 150kW fast-charging outlets, giving it an extra 100 kilometres of range in 10 minutes.

After pushing boundaries with the i8 (pictured) and i3, BMW played it safe with the iX3.

BMW has not confirmed Australian prices or specifications for the car, which is due to arrive locally in the second half of 2021.

It says the iX3’s cabin brings the same “highly premium ambience” of its wider SUV range, though the new model is the only one to feature an electro soundtrack by Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer in place of regular combustion engine noises.

The iX3’s cabin is just like its conventionally powered cousins.

Priced from about €68,000 ($111,000) in Germany, the BMW iX3 costs a little less than the BMW X5 30d offered for about $112,000 drive-away in Australia.

That will make it usefully cheaper than premium electric SUV rivals which cost about $140,000 drive-away.