One of the things that is always emphasized for electric vehicles is the range and also the charging time. BMW, which is one of the pioneers of electric vehicles, recently announced their new electric car in the series classified as Neue Klasse, which means ‘New Class’ with various technologies that will be used in the new BMW series after this, and the model introduced is the BMW iX3 which has a travel range of up to 805KM WLTP.
What puts the BMW iX3 in this new class ‘Neue Klasse’ is its driving experience that uses the BMW Panomaric iDrive, which places the information panel on the dashboard, in a reflective manner. Various information can be seen, and there is no longer an instrument display that needs to be seen in the steering wheel. All of this is powered by BMW Operating System X, which is also equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon Ride Pliot, a Level 2+ Self-Driving System that allows this self-driving system to have a 360-degree level of scene awareness in detecting objects, lanes, road signs, and more.
In addition, it also uses sustainable materials, which reduces the carbon footprint by more than 30% compared to the previous iX3 model. In fact, the overall design and also the ‘kidney grill’ design now return to the original design of the previous Neue Klasse, which is smaller and all these design elements will be used on 40 new BMW models that will be introduced until 2027.
The first model of the Neue Klasse series also uses the 6th generation BMW eDrive electric drive system, and has a more efficient energy efficiency where it provides 345 kW / 469 hp enabling acceleration from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds with a maximum speed of 210 km/h and has all-wheel drive.
With a 108 kWh battery that also uses a new cylinder cell, it allows 20% more energy to be stored than before and allows a 30% increase in charging speed. With this new generation battery, it also provides a travel distance of up to 805 KM WLTP and is also equipped with a 400 kW DC fast charging using 800V architecture, allowing it to be charged 10-80% in as fast as 20 minutes. At maximum charging speed, it can be said that around 640KM of distance can be charged in 20 minutes. For 22kW AC charging, it will take 5 hours 45 minutes for a full charge of 0-100%. The BMW iX3 also supports the V2L function.
This car is targeted to start meeting users as early as 2026 and maybe we will see it on local roads soon.