The rumors were true. BMW will indeed be making the fully electric version of its X3 crossover in China once production will kick off in 2020 at the plant located in Shenyang. In hindsight, it now makes perfect sense why the company decided to unveil the iX3 concept at the Beijing Motor Show, thus highlighting how important the People's Republic is for the BMW. After all, approximately 560,000 cars were delivered in China last year, which is more than in the next two largest markets (U.S. and Germany) combined.
The local joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive manufactured two-thirds of all BMW vehicles sold last year in China, and in order to meet an increasing demand, BBA will ramp up production at the Tiexi and Dadong in Shenyang, Liaoning Province to reach 520,000 units in 2019.
The reason why we're mentioning BBA is because it will be in charge of putting together the iX3 after starting production of the conventionally powered X3 in May when it became the sixth BMW model localized in China. BBA not only has the two car factories we've mentioned earlier, but it's also operating an engine plant, which contains a battery factory tailored to the electrified models. Needless to say, it will build the necessary battery packs for the iX3, billed as being the "first all-electric core model" from the BMW brand and set to be exported globally.
As a refresher, the iX3 concept showcased in Beijing had a generous battery pack with a capacity of 70 kWh providing enough juice for more than 400 kilometers (249 miles) in the forthcoming WLTP cycle. Based on BMW's fifth-generation electric drive system, the zero-emissions crossover had an output rated at 270 horsepower (200 kilowatts) and took advantage of fast-charging capabilities to fully "fill up" the battery in only half an hour.
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