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12-05-2017, 02:59 AM | #1 |
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BMW Announces iX Names for Electric SUV Models. Electric iX3 to be First.
BIMMERPOST NEWS BMW Announces iX Names for Electric SUV Models. Electric iX3 to be First. Via Autonews MUNICH – BMW may expand its electric range by adding smaller and high-end cars and SUVs as it seeks to benefit from the industry shift toward battery-powered cars. The automaker has secured naming rights for the badges i1 to i9 and iX1 to iX9, CEO Harald Krueger told reporters at a press event here. BMW currently sells two i-badged cars – the full-electric i3 city hatchback and the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. It plans at least two new electric cars, one likely to be called the i5 and another that may be named the i9. BMW uses the X designation for its SUVs and crossovers so electric SUVs would use the iX label. The brand’s next EV will be a variant of the X3 called the iX3. "In 2020 we will launch the fully electric X3. In it, X and i come together," Krueger said. Krueger didn’t expand on other EV variants but the brand’s electric flagship is expected to be called the i9. BMW said in May that it will begin production of the i brand’s flagship electric car, code-named the iNext, at its factory in Dingolfing, Germany, in 2021. The i9 could get a crossover version called the iX9. BMW’s upcoming 8-series coupe, due to go on sale next year and also built in Dingolfing, could get an electric version called the i8 and a crossover version called the iX8. Krueger did not mention EV versions of the 8 series but he confirmed the 8 series will have a high-performance variant called the M8. The naming rights suggest BMW may also be planning X8 and X9 models at the top of its expanding SUV lineup. The X9 could serve markets such as the U.S., China, Russia and the Middle East which are showing appetite for models even larger than BMW’s upcoming X7, which is over 5000mm long. As part of its SUV offensive, BMW launch two new SUVs next year – X2 and the three-row X7 – expanding its lineup comprising the X1, X3, X4, X5 and X6 to seven models. Krueger said about a third of BMW sales are X-badged models. “Our model offensive is also an X-offensive. That is why I call 2018 the year of the “X.”
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12-05-2017, 07:55 AM | #2 |
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Really looking forward to the iX3. But it needs a tow hitch before I place my order, and preferably 4wd too.
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12-05-2017, 08:03 AM | #3 |
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This should be interesting. Mainly because BMW i implies weight savings as a key component of a car. And no one has attempted serious weight savings on an SUV yet.
Is it possible we might see actual innovation from BMW again?
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12-05-2017, 08:04 AM | #4 |
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not to be confused at all with the cx3, cx5, cx7, or cx9 because you know.. i and c are different letters.
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12-05-2017, 08:30 AM | #6 | |
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http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1437646 And seeing as how they seem to have been dead on with the naming prediction, I think they are probably well inside the ballpark with their other information tool. CLAR has potential for CFRP in the unibody, but I suspect that will remain limited to higher end vehicles for the G generation (or longer). Even the X7, the flagship BMW SUV, may not make use of it (at least as extensively) as the 7 Series did and upcoming 8 Series probably will. Furthermore, even if they do begin to use more carbon fiber in lower end models, for an electric vehicle, that will mainly serve to help offset some of the weight gain a BEV typically exhibits as compared to its ICE counterpart. |
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12-05-2017, 08:36 AM | #7 |
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All current G01 variants have a tow hitch as an available option. Don't see a reason why an iX3 wouldn't offer the same.
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12-05-2017, 08:54 AM | #8 | |
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You can't just retrofit from a non-hybrid car either, as it's not legal. Very few electric cars have a tow hitch, even in Europe where every car has a tow hitch. Tesla Model X is one of very few exceptions. |
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12-05-2017, 08:59 AM | #9 | |
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Have the 2WD variants of the X3 launched in Europe or elsewhere? I know that there is an sDrive30i on the map for the US, but not until next year according to current info. I wasn't sure if a 20i, 20d, or whatever other lower end models are available elsewhere were already offered in sDrive configuration. If so and if those offer decent towing (I imagine a diesel would, even a low powered one) then perhaps that would be a good indication of what to expect for the iX3. Though it would not guarantee anything because, when it comes to EV, range concerns could be incompatible from a marketing perspective with towing. |
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12-05-2017, 09:02 AM | #10 | ||
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Power is not the issue, but heat could be maybe. |
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12-05-2017, 09:12 AM | #11 | ||
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12-05-2017, 09:29 AM | #12 | |
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Range would obviously be an issue in an all EV vehicle that would need to tow at least 4k pounds to be of any use. It would be a huge hit if they could produce a iX3 that could tow 4k pounds for any reasonable distance but now see how this would be highly unlikely due to range. I would assume it would have to be an sDrive and the weight savings massive.
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12-05-2017, 10:25 AM | #13 | |
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http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=71_0970 http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/part...563&series=F60
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12-05-2017, 10:36 AM | #14 |
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This is intresting stuff. The i SUV should be a AWD, the TH thingy, i'm not so sure. As i am aware, neither the i-pace or the MB EV SUV or Audi upcoming EV SUV have trailer hitch. Tesla is the only EV with this feature, it affects both range and heat i think.
Besides, i do not think future i cars will be as expensive and hardcore as the i3, hardly another Carbon coupe.
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12-05-2017, 10:37 AM | #15 | |
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Even the base 1-series with 1.5l engine is delivered with a hitch in Europe. Remember that it's not that usual with trucks in Europe, so even a tow weight of 2500lbs would be quite helpful for most people. It's not that common to tow more than that, unless you have a caravan or a big boat. |
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12-05-2017, 10:52 AM | #16 | ||
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12-05-2017, 03:13 PM | #18 | ||
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Agreed
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12-05-2017, 06:30 PM | #20 | |
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12-05-2017, 06:54 PM | #21 | |
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That's it in a nutshell, yeah.
They had to switch course. They conceived the i brand with dedicated platforms servicing relatively niche segments. But now that EVs have become "real" in a relatively short time (thank Tesla for the disruption in the market), you need to cover a lot more market surface area - ultimately, all of the segments your gasoline models cover, really - by sometime next decade. It's no longer a hobby (as Steve Jobs might have said) - it needs to be profitable quickly. That means they need to use more commodity platforms which can support high volumes at reasonable costs. The way to do that is to use evolutions of CLAR and UKL, and to derive the electric models from the existing series models already in development. Quote:
Looking into the future a bit, the problem I see is that they sort of paint themselves into a corner with this naming convention because once there are two or more electric trim levels they need something different again. Perhaps at that point they'll go back to tacking a number on the end again - "iX3 20, iX3 30, iX3 40". And then maybe a few decades further out when the gasoline variants are gone, they can move the "i" back to the end again, and we'll have come full circle. |
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12-05-2017, 07:05 PM | #22 | ||
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About as confusing as Born Electric, when only 1 out of 3 are actually a BEV. |
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