BMW is pushing ahead with its electric strategy and will start production of a new model series this year.
It is an SUV in the compact segment.
Regensburg/Munich – Even if openness to technology seems to be of great importance with regard to the future: The transformation towards e-mobility is in full swing at BMW.
The electric car iX1 has been manufactured in the Upper Palatinate since autumn last year.
Another model will be added in 2023 – the BMW iX2.
This is gratifying from the point of view of the local labor market: After all, the BMW innovation is not manufactured in the USA or China, but in the car manufacturer's Regensburg plant.
Because in the course of the highly competitive market for electric cars, many companies give in to the temptation to set up production facilities where sales opportunities are high - and massive subsidies also beckon.
BMW practices both methods and promotes Bavaria as an industrial location.
BMW is producing the next electric car in Regensburg - and is increasing capacities
By the end of the year, BMW intends to hire around 500 new employees here, and the investments are expected to total over 350 million euros.
Why the location still makes sense with regard to the iX2: It is a virtually identical model to the compact SUV BMX iX1 that has been produced there since 2022.
In this way, existing synergies are used in the development process of the similarly dimensioned series.
The high-voltage batteries installed in the cars are also produced in Regensburg, right next to the location of the vehicle plant.
According to the company, around 30,000 batteries have already been assembled since iX1 production started in northern Bavaria.
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BMW logo on a parked vehicle: In 2023, the carmaker will be launching a new model series (symbolic image).
© IMAGO/Artur Widak
BMW starts production of the iX2 - Regensburg becomes an electric car Mecca
As the board of directors of the Munich group explained last year, by 2024 at least every third BMW in the Bavarian plants should be an electric car.
According to assumptions, this goal could already be covered by the iX1.
With the start of production of the brand brother iX2, this goal would therefore be exceeded.
The premium manufacturer has so far remained silent on the technical data of the Bavarian Stromer, but they should correspond to those of the iX1 xDrive30, with a 64.7 kWh battery and an output of 230 kW or 313 hp.
However, electrive.net
predicts that the WLTP range of 436 kilometers could be surpassed because the coupé variant promises a lower drag coefficient
.
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BMW iX2 for just under 60,000 euros: is that still premium, or is it already luxury?
As in the identical brand brother, the compact SUV coupé with all-wheel drive should roll to the customer and bear the model name BMW iX2 xDrive30.
To what extent is the electric offshoot of the next X2 generation affordable for the middle class as a new car?
The prices for the SUV coupe are unlikely to be less than 55,000 euros - the current entry-level price of the iX1.
Specialist portals expect that one or two thousand euros will be added to the new BMW iX2.
But the Bavarian crossover from Regensburg should be popular with leasing and car subscription deals before it is available on the used car market for less money.
(PF)
List of rubrics: © IMAGO/Artur Widak