Images of BMW's all-electric iX3 SUV have leaked online, and are allegedly official shots from the brand. The leaked images show the Jaguar I-Pace and Mercedes EQC rival's exterior with no body cladding for the first time.
We can see the X3's trademark kidney grille has been blanked out for production, as is often the case with EVs that no longer require air cooling to the same extent. Vertical intakes at each edge of the front bumper seem to be brake cooling ducts, while blue backlighting appears to feature around the grille and down the sills.
The unusual aero-focused wheel design is adopted from the iX3 concept, although the car's overall look has been toned down a little with the EV now more closely linked to the standard X3. Blue detailing also features at the rear, with two panels acting as styling inserts in place of the usual twin exhaust outlets.
We have yet to see shots of the interior, but it's safe to assume that - bar some new functions in the instruments and infotainment to show EV-specific information and buttons for the extra drive modes - it will remain largely identical to that of the standard X3.
Details of the production iX3's powertrain are not yet forthcoming. When the 2018 iX3 concept was first shown the plan was to offer a battery capacity of over 70kWh, a range of around 400km and an electric motor rated at 274hp (an output that could in theory be doubled with a dual-motor set-up on top models).
There is no official reveal date for the iX3 and it is likely to have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, it is still expected that the model will be revealed and go on sale in international markets before the end of 2020.
There is no news regarding BMW’s plans to bring the iX3 to our market yet, though the brand has a number of models that are slated to launch over the course of this year. The line-up of new cars including the 8 Series Gran Coupe, M8, 2 Series Gran Coupe, the X2 and X6 SUVs, and a number of M performance cars. The German luxury carmaker has also recently launched an online retail and service platform in our market called BMW Contactless Experience.
Also see:
How coronavirus has hit the global auto industry: a timeline
Why BMW and Mercedes-Benz were nearly level on sales in Q1 2020