BMW might be putting the finishing touches on the all-new X3 for late 2024 as a 2025 model, but the Munich-based automaker is also working on a completely electric sibling. Enter the iX3, a rear-biased crossover underpinned by the company's much-touted Neue Klasse platform for EVs.
Pictured while playing in the snow near the Arctic Circle, the prototypes caught by the carparazzi all feature rear-wheel steering. The rear wheels turn in the opposite direction of the fronts at low speeds, but not by much. BMW already uses rear-wheel steering in the CLAR-based iX crossover and i5 sedan, with both offering up to 2.5 degrees.
Electric vehicles based on platforms originally designed for internal combustion vehicles are inherently compromised in many respects. You can easily tell how big of a jump the Neue Klasse platform is compared to the CLuster ARchitecture by turning back time to the Vision Neue Klasse Concept's debut at the IAA Mobility in 2023.
Frank Weber, member of the board of management responsible for development, clearly stated "30 percent more range, 30 percent faster charging, 25 percent more efficiency." In the first instance, this 800-volt platform will be used in the i3 and the iX3. If those names appear familiar, that's because BMW sells a 3 Series-based electric sedan and an X3-based electric sport utility vehicle in China.
Neither is good enough for Western markets, hence their absence from North American showrooms. Prior to the current i3, this nameplate stood for a B-segment hatchback with skinny front tires, a model that wouldn't have been possible without BMW incorporating valuable lessons learned from the MINI E and the 1 Series ActiveE programs.
Photo: Baldauf
Very similar to the combustion-engined G45 X3 in footprint, the NA5 iX3 couldn't be more different under the skin. The differences will extend to the interior, where the Neue Klasse Concept's BMW Panoramic Vision system will be adapted for series production. Simply put, BMW Panoramic Vision is a head-up display spanning across the entire width of the windscreen. During the BMW Group's 2023 Annual Conference, chief executive officer Oliver Zipse confirmed that said feature will be in series production in 2025. The question is, when?
According to sources close to BMW, the iX3 will start rolling off the line at BMW's Neue Klasse production facility in Debrecen, Hungary no later than July 2025. The second-gen iX3 will also come from the San Luis Potosi plant in Mexico. The lineup is believed to kick off with the rear-drive 40, followed by the 40 xDrive and 50 xDrive.
The M Performance model is likely to be called M60 xDrive. The rumor mill further suggests an M model in the form of the iX3 M, which is said to feature a different codename from the M60 xDrive and lesser versions, that codename being ZA5.
A direct competitor to the upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLC EV and Audi Q6 e-tron, the second-generation iX3 should arrive at US and Canadian dealers for the 2026 model year. But as opposed to Europe, other markets will get the NA5 in the first half of 2026 rather than the second half of 2025.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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