Business
14 November, 2024
Plug-in hybrid for BMW SUV
BMW Australia will expand its electric vehicle range next year with the launch of the X3 30e xDrive plug-in hybrid variant.
The new offering will become the third member of the new X3 line-up, joining the X3 20 xDrive and M50 xDrive. It will also be the fifth plug-in hybrid model in the BMW Australia fleet, alongside the X5 xDrive50e, M5 Sedan, M5 Touring and XM.
BMW will continue offering the fully electric iX3 in both M Sport and M Sport Pro grade levels.
It means that in 2025 BMW will offer 21 electrified vehicles to the local market – the most of any manufacturer in Australia – and comes the same year the Federal Government will implement the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), where manufacturers must meet mandated C02 emissions per kilometre figures across their fleets.
The X3 30e xDrive will have the the latest generation of BMW eDrive technology for plug-in hybrid models, bringing together a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and high-voltage battery.
The latter is positioned flat in the vehicle floor and has a usable energy content of 19.7kWh, which, with optimised efficiency through intelligent energy management and adaptive recuperation, enables an electric range of up to 91km according to the ADR 81/02 test cycle. This marks a more than 50 per cent improvement on that of the previous model.
The high-voltage battery charges at 11kW as standard – nearly triple the rate of the first generation X3 30e xDrive – and supports both single-phase and three-phase AC charging. The battery can be fully recharged from empty in two hours and 15 minutes – a reduction of 90 minutes on the recharging time of the outgoing model.
Total system output is rated at 220kW with 450Nm, and drive is sent to all four wheels via a model-specific eight-speed Steptronic transmission.
The BMW X3 30e xDrive can accelerate from standstill to 100km/h in just 6.2 seconds on the way to a top speed of 215km/h. It can also be driven in purely electric mode up to 140km/h.
It can achieve of all this while delivering consumption of just 1.6 litres per 100km and 38g/km of C02 (ADR 81/02).
Priced from $102,500, it comes standard with 20in M light alloy wheels, all-wheel-drive, three-zone auto climate control, six-speaker 100-watt Hi-Fi system, acoustic glazing, adaptive headlights and suspension, an automatic tailgate and fully digital instrumentation.
