Back in April, at the Auto Shanghai 2021, BMW unveiled its next electric vehicle – the iX SUV.
The launch event saw plenty of focus on the EV’s drive technology, efficiency paired to the very latest battery cell know-how resulting in the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP – a globally harmonised standard for determining the levels of pollutants, CO2 emissions and fuel consumption) -calculated ranges of up to 630 kilometres in the BMW iX xDrive50 variant, and up to 425 kilometres in the BMW iX xDrive40 model.
The pure electric SUV is actually equipped with two electric motors, with one on each axle to provide all-wheel drive. Together, one gets 326 PS (322 hp or 240 kW) and 630 Nm of torque on tap. This means zero to 100 km/h in just 6.1 seconds to a top speed of 200 km/h.
The battery can be charged via an AC Type 2 outlet at up to 11 kW, which takes seven hours and 15 minutes for a full charge. It also supports DC fast-charging up to 150 kW via a CCS2 connection, which can get the SUV from a 10-80% state of charge in about 31 minutes.
As an electric crossover SUV, the iX resembles the run-of-the-mill X5 but with a lower roofline and a more aerodynamic profile. BMW says it pretty much has the roof height of an X6 and the wheel size of an X7. The design team for the iX wanted the exterior to look “clean and robust, monolithic almost, like a well-rounded stone with some facets sheared off,” revealed Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW’s design director.
Oh yes, did we also mention that the iX is BMW’s technological flagship, meaning it incorporates multiple technologies that will be featured in the German automaker’s upcoming vehicles, mainly electric powertrain and driver interface? The iX will be the first vehicle to feature the automaker’s fifth-generation scalable EV technology, which means it can be adjusted to accommodate vehicles of different sizes and utilities.
And now, after perhaps months of frustration on account of the pandemic pretty much putting the brakes of the local automotive industry, looks like the Malaysian car-buying public is coming back with a vengeance as BMW Malaysia has announced that it has received 64 pre-bookings for the new BMW iX electric SUV, with a launch price of RM420k, in less than a week after the order books were opened for the iX on BMW Malaysia’s BMW Shop Online platform!
What’s more, Malaysian customers who’ve pre-booked the BMW iX xDrive40 with a RM5,000 fee also get to enjoy goodies like the inclusion of a complimentary charging station installation (charger excluded) as well as one-year complimentary ChargEV public charging access. This promo was originally limited to the first 50 bookings, but it has now been extended to the first 100 on account of the unexpected level of interest!
Well, what the customer wants, the customer gets… right?
