With as much as 800 kilometers of WLTP vary, BMW goals to remove vary nervousness as soon as and for all. The determine is even larger in China, the place the extra lenient CLTC check cycle charges the iX3 at 900 kilometers. In the US, the revamped electrical crossover will provide roughly 400 miles of vary, making it one of many longest-range electrical autos in North America.
BMW can also be addressing one other key concern for EV homeowners: charging time. A brand new video posted on social media reveals the 2026 iX3 prototype charging at 403 kW, barely above the beforehand quoted most of 400 kW. Underneath ultimate circumstances, this enables the battery to realize 217 miles (350 kilometers) of WLTP vary in simply 10 minutes. Nevertheless, discovering a charging station able to delivering 400 kW is one other matter completely.
The 800-volt electrical structure greater than doubles the utmost charging energy in comparison with the outgoing iX3. The earlier CLAR-based mannequin reached a peak of simply 150 kW and will add solely 62 miles (100 kilometers) in 10 minutes. The Neue Klasse iX3 additionally incorporates a change from prismatic to cylindrical battery cells, rising power density by 20%. Its predecessor managed solely 460 kilometers of WLTP vary per cost.
Whereas the Instagram clip is spectacular, it’s price noting that the brand new iX3 received’t maintain 400 kW charging repeatedly. The system can keep the height charge for about 3-5 minutes earlier than regularly really fizzling out. Even so, a 20-minute session can cost the battery from 10% to 80%. Within the U.S., BMW will equip the iX3 with a native NACS connector, enabling seamless entry to Tesla Superchargers and the IONNA community with out the necessity for an adapter.
Past the upgraded battery and charging system, the iX3 is lastly gaining xDrive. Not like its rear-wheel-drive predecessor, the brand new model will characteristic a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup. BMW is more likely to provide a single-motor RWD configuration as properly, and logic tells us it’ll be probably the most environment friendly of the lot.
Full particulars will likely be revealed in early September when BMW unveils the iX3 on the IAA Mobility Present in Munich. Manufacturing on the Debrecen plant in Hungary is predicted to start close to the tip of 2025. The U.S.-bound variations are due someday subsequent yr.
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