The Munich car maker BMW is serious about its e-car offensive.
Bayern celebrated the premiere of the iX on Wednesday.
The SUV-Stromer weighs 2.5 tons - and is a challenge to the competition.
BMW
is expanding its e-fleet at full speed.
Starting in 2021, the Bavarians want to
massively increase the pressure on the competition
with the new
iX
.
With an estimated
list price
of 95,000 euros, the driving pleasure will probably be more for the well-heeled.
Munich - Two years after the presentation of the iNext concept vehicle,
BMW
*
has
now presented the fully electric luxury SUV for the first time as it should be at dealerships in November next year.
The company's new “technology flagship” is called
iX
and, in the words of CEO
Oliver Zipse
*, “
ushers in
a new era at
BMW
”.
The premiere on Wednesday took place online.
The iX is "the first premium vehicle to be equipped with the 5G mobile communications standard" and can transmit 30 gigabits of data per second.
However, the driver cannot read the newspaper while driving: if he lets go of the steering wheel, he has to keep looking at the road.
BMW
postponed the
original goal of allowing the car to drive autonomously in accordance with the Level 3 standard
by a few years.
Because the lidar sensors installed today cannot look far enough ahead to drive completely independently and safely on the motorway.
At first glance, the iX looks like the
X5
.
Length and width are identical.
Behind the huge kidney at the front are the sensors, steering and the electric motor for the front axle.
It is no longer possible to look under the hood, it is screwed tight.
Headlights and rear lights are extremely narrow.
The steering wheel is square.
“If the vehicle drives by itself and asks the driver to take the wheel again, he can see the steering better,” explained
Franciscus van Meel
, Head of the
Rolls-Royce
* and
BMW
Luxury Class
product line
.
Finally!
The first-ever BMW iX, introduced by Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design.
Watch the full unveil at https://t.co/mWBd6bghsk.#THEiX #NEXTGen pic.twitter.com/MJXXCEMrRw
- BMW (@BMW) November 11, 2020
BMW iX: More living space than a car?
A wide display stands freely on the window sill of the windshield where the dashboard used to be.
The car becomes a living space, for example when it is stuck in traffic for hours, said Zipse.
"We were more inspired by a living space than by automobile construction," explained
BMW
chief designer
Adrian van Hooydonk
.
“We thought the car from the inside out.” The technology in the iX takes a back seat, operation is becoming easier.
The up to 30 speakers are invisible.
When the driver says: “I'm cold”, heated surfaces warm up.
The price is on the level of a combustion engine with a comparable engine, it said.
With 500 hp, that would be around 95,000 euros.
“We don't build a car that isn't profitable,” said Zipse.
The market segment is very interesting, said industry
expert Stefan Bratzel
.
“I expect
BMW to be able to
attack.” So far, the
Audi e-tron
and the
Tesla Model X
have been the top dogs in the luxury-class electric SUVs
- the
Mercedes EQC
and the
Jaguar i-Pace
have a hard time.
But it will be exciting to see whether Mercedes will be able to bring a level 3-capable production vehicle onto the road next year, said Bratzel.
BMW iX: 600 kilometers range and less air resistance than a sports car
BMW
wants to score points over the competition
with its low consumption and electric range - the iX sets standards with a power consumption of less than 21 kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers and a range of more than 600 kilometers according to the WLTP standard.
With a drag coefficient of 0.25, the large SUV even has less air resistance than the BMW i8 and many other sports cars.
+
BMW iX: Cool understatement in the interior and a huge free-floating display.
© BMW
BMW iX: 2.5 tons weight
At two and a half tons, it is the heaviest
BMW
ever, despite the aluminum and carbon in the body.
In the group, only the
Rolls-Royce
brings
more on the scales.
“But the aerodynamics of an electric car are more important than the weight,” said van Meel.
Important details for the low air resistance are the wheels, the sloping roof line and the narrow foot of the exterior mirrors, explained van Hooydonk.
With a charging time of 40 minutes at a fast charging station, the iX is within the normal range.
It takes 11 hours at a normal charging station.
The electric SUV will also be available with a trailer coupling for caravans, said the Dutchman van Meel.
BMW: New development concept
The iX was developed in Munich with computer game technology and simulators like those used in aviation.
During “test drives with a car that doesn't even have a prototype”, “designers and developers were able to experience the vehicle with virtual reality just as the driver did later,” said
Michael Bartvogel
, Head of
BMW
Driving Simulation.
Cobblestones, full throttle, emergency braking, every movement is translated by the simulator, which moves a mass of 84 tons.
“We had highly dynamic cornering, which made occupants feel bad in the simulator.”
BMW
dealers as well as “typical customers from the segment, including drivers of competitor vehicles”, drove in the simulator for the developers and gave suggestions.
+
iX in X5 format: The new SUV electric vehicle should travel 600 kilometers on one charge.
© BMW AG
The iX is
the third fully electric
BMW
after the small
i3
and the SUV
iX3
and is to be built in Dingolfing from summer 2021.
Zipse sees no competition in it for the X5 with diesel, gasoline or hybrid drive: “The iX is not intended to replace the X5.” The market segment is large, “there is a lot of space.
I don't think they can cannibalize themselves. ”
(Dpa) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen Digital editorial network.