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MINI to Offer EV in 2019, Electric BMW X3 Coming in 2020

Right now, there aren't any electric SUVs on the market... if you ignore the Model X, which doesn't look the part. But pretty soon, we'll have a BMW X3, a Mercedes GLC, an Audi Q6 and a Jaguar F-Pace all running only on battery juice.
i5 SUV rendering 3 photos
Photo: Remco M
BMW i5 SUV renderingBMW i5 SUV rendering
BMW has been quite open about the X3 EV. Although we don't know what it will look like, this should be a dedicated i model with its own styling rather than an iPerformance car with just an extra port on the front fender. But you never know!

The latest report from Dutch magazine AutoRAI says the X3 EV will arrive a year earlier than we thought, in 2020 no less. That's a stone's throw away and only three years after the reveal of the all-new generation X3 SUV. It should be a cool car, considering the i8 is left wanting in the tech and luxury departments when compared to the 7 Series flagship.

BMW i manager Marc Nas told the aforementioned source that making this car makes all the sense in the world because 33% of BMW sales come from SUVs. That's sound logic, but the 3 Series is still their most popular nameplate, so why not a Tesla Model 3 rival instead?

While we ponder that question, let's just mention that MINI will actually be the first to offer an EV. We recently mentioned that the plug-in version of the Countryman draws from the experience of the MINI E program.

We know nothing about this little EV other than the fact that it's coming in 2019. Considering the size of the brand, a bespoke model is probably out of the question. But if Renault could squeeze a 41 kWh battery under the seats of the Zoe, MINI could probably do the same to the Countryman or Clubman. Considering all the green juice needs to fit under the seats, it's probably going to be a car with a high riding position.

Of course, there was that rumor that the Rocketman concept would see production as a dedicated EV. But a brand new car would need at least two years of testing, so we should see an eloquent prototype soon.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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