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The BMW Vision iNEXT Concept Car has become the all-electric BMW iX, comparable with the BMW X5 in length and width, and it’s expected to have a 372 mile range.
A year before its market launch at the end of 2021, the BMW Group is providing a first look ahead to the future BMW iX, which is currently still in the development phase.
The BMW iX – comparable with the BMW X5 in length and width, and almost the same height as the BMW X6 – is the first model based on a new, modular, scalable future toolkit developed by the BMW Group.
Described by the BMW Group as its new technology flagship, the BMW iX will go into production from the second half of 2021. It brings together the company’s latest developments in the fields of Design, Automated Driving, Connectivity, Electrification and Services, and BMW says that “the vehicle concept and design are rooted in an all-embracing approach to sustainability”. This is reflected in areas of the car such as its optimised aerodynamics, intelligent lightweight design and extensive use of natural and recycled materials.
The BMW iX has the fifth generation of BMW eDrive technology – which encompasses the two electric motors, the power electronics, the charging technology and the high-voltage battery.
The power unit developed by the BMW Group is manufactured sustainably, without the use of critical raw materials known as rare earths and will, according to the most recent calculations, develop maximum output of more than 500 hp. That will be enough to power the BMW iX from 0 to 62 mph in under 5.0 seconds.
A clear development aim was for the BMW iX to post an exceptionally low combined electric power consumption figure for its segment of less than 21 kWh per 100 kilometres in the WLTP test cycle. A gross energy content of more than 100 kWh should enable the latest-generation high-voltage battery to record a range of over 372 miles in the WLTP cycle. That equates to more than 300 miles according to the EPA’s FTP-75 test procedure. (All figures relating to performance, energy consumption and range are provisional values based on the car’s current stage of development.)
The new charging technology of the BMW iX enables DC fast charging at up to 200 kW. This means the battery can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent of its full capacity in under 40 minutes. Within ten minutes enough energy can be fed into the battery to increase the car’s range by more than 75 miles. It takes less than eleven hours to charge the high-voltage battery from 0 to 100 per cent at 11 kW from a Wallbox.
The batteries fitted in the BMW iX are designed as part of a long-term resource cycle and enable an exceptionally high recycling rate. The power used to produce the battery cells and the high-voltage battery as a whole come exclusively from renewable sources.
The electric range of the new BMW iX benefits from the vehicle’s innovative lightweight design and optimised aerodynamics. Its body structure, featuring an aluminium spaceframe and innovative Carbon Cage, has an extremely high torsional stiffness which enhances agility and maximises occupant protection while minimising weight.
The underbody section, the wheels and the rear end gives the BMW iX optimised aerodynamics which have a positive effect on both the performance and range of the purely electrically powered SAV. The BMW iX boasts outstanding aerodynamics for its class, with a drag coefficient (Cd) of just 0.25.
The new technology toolkit making its debut in the BMW iX also provides the platform for significant progress in the areas of automated driving and digital services. The level of computing power has been developed to process 20 times the data volume of previous models. As a result, around double the amount of data from vehicle sensors can be processed than was previously possible.
