BMW used the Beijing Motor Show to announce the iX3, the company's first all-electric SUV that will be mass-produced starting in 2020.
The global savings vehicle will have 270 horsepower and BMW estimates that it will receive around 250 miles of range on each charge of its 70kWh battery pack.
The BMW iX3 will be based on the design of the X3 compact SUV seen on the road today and can go much further with a single charge than the first attempt of the manufacturer of a fully electric car, the BMW i3, which reached a maximum of 113 miles.
BMW used the Beijing Motor Show as its headquarters for one important reason: it is choosing China as the country where the BMW iX3 will be produced, the first major export of BMW's Chinese manufacturing site.
It did not announce the price of the iX3 at the event, but considering that a basic X3 package only costs around $ 41,000 (£ 39,105, AU $ 68,900), it could cost much less than the all-electric Tesla SUV, the $ 79,500 (£ 76,500, AU $ 119,000) Tesla Model X.
Do automakers dream of electric SUVs?
While the BMW iX3 is in the headlines today, it is not the only all-electric vehicle in the BMW line – the automaker says it will offer 12 fully electric vehicles, including the Mini E, iNext and Vision Dynamics, by year 2025.
Add the new Jaguar I-Pace, the Audi Sportback, the Mercedes EQC, the Porsche Mission-E Concept and the Tesla Model Y, and you could be seeing a wide selection of electric SUVs by the end of the decade. 19659002] Does Tesla have what it takes to keep up with all these new challenges to the all-electric throne? Everything depends on whether production problems continue …
