The globally popular BMW X3 will also be produced in a plug-in hybrid variant from December 2019, making it the first model of the brand to be offered with both a conventional combustion engine and a plug-in hybrid system – with the addition of a purely electrically powered version in 2020.
With a market share of more than 9 percent, the company currently leads the worldwide ranking of established premium providers of vehicles that are purely electrically powered or run on plug-in hybrid systems. In 2018, the BMW Group was the market leader in the premium segment of electrified vehicles in both Germany and in China. With a share of more than 16 per cent, the company also once again led the overall European market for electrified vehicles. BMW Group achieved a new worldwide sales record in 2018 with more than 140000 units of electrical and plug-in hybrid vehicles sold – an increase of 38.4 per cent over the previous year. As one of the four future- oriented ACES topic areas (Autonomous, Connected, Electrified and Services/Shared), electromobility is one of the key elements of the company’s NUMBER ONE > NEXT strategy. The aim of the BMW Group is to have put more than half a million electrified vehicles of its brands on the road by the end of 2019.
With the purely electrically powered BMW i3, the BMW i8 Coupé and the BMW i8 Roadster, the plug-in hybrid variants of the BMW X5 and the BMW X3, the BMW 2 Series, BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series and BMW 7 Series, the BMW X1 xDrive25Le produced in China for the local market, the MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 and the purely electrically powered MINI, the BMW Group will have 12 electrically powered models in its programme by the end of 2019.
By 2025 the BMW Group will have increased the selection of its brands’ electrically powered vehicles to at least 25 models. The company also begins production of another SAV with plug-in hybrid drive in December 2019, thereby further expanding its range of electrically powered vehicles.
The latest BMW plug-in hybrid model is fitted with a lithium-ion battery which is positioned under the rear seat in order to save space. With a luggage volume of 450 litres, the transport capacity of the BMW X3 xDrive30e is at the level of those model variants which are fitted with a conventional engine.
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