America, your ho-hum interest in electric vehicles has taken the BMW iX3 off the docket. The German automaker no longer plans to bring the electric SUV to the US.
BMW confirmed the move with Roadshow following Automotive News first reporting the news Sunday. The iX3, a battery-electric version of the X3 SUV, was originally meant to arrive in 2021 for the US. A BMW representative did not offer additional information on reasons for the decision.
Automotive News, however, reported the decision comes after the US, the second largest auto market in the world, has failed to adopt more electric vehicles than expected. Range was a particular concern as well, as the publication cited an anonymous dealer source who said an EPA estimate of 300 miles to a charge looked unlikely.
Instead, BMW will court Chinese car buyers with the electric SUV and offer it solely with rear-wheel drive. In the US, all-wheel drive continues to be the more popular option for EV buyers.
Despite the iX3 staying out of the US, BMW still plans for two new EVs in the coming years. Things will kick off with the range-topping iNext SUV, set for production in mid-2021. This SUV will also flex BMW's self-driving muscles and likely arrive with Level 3 partial automation, based on the SAE scale of autonomy.
Its followup will be a Tesla Model 3 rival in the BMW i4, scheduled for production in late 2021. The German automaker showed the i4 Concept last week and said 85% of what we see is ready for production. It should pack around 530 horsepower and boast a range of 373 miles on the European WLTP standards. In the US, look for that number to come in significantly lower, thanks to more real-world testing on the EPA cycle.
