BMW to develop additional EV line-up

BMW is planning on producing all-electric variants of the X3, X4, seventh-generation 3-series, and the Mini Cooper hatchback. The first lot of the new electric models are reportedly scheduled to be sold internationally from the end of 2018, alongside dedicated electrical models from the i brand, including the recently upgraded i3.

According to reports on Bloomberg, BMW CEO Harald Krüger said the electric X3 would arrive in 2020, almost a year after the electric Mini. This information comes after recent reports claiming that the carmaker has developed a new model strategy that will result in a selected number of regular production models being offered with pure electric drive systems. This is part of a push to fend off competition from Tesla as well as BMW's traditional premium brand rivals, which include Audi, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.

The move to add electrically powered versions of the 3-series, X4 and Mini Cooper to its line-up could also be looked at as an admission by BMW that its earlier strategy of basing dedicated i brand models around expensive carbon-fibre and aluminium platforms to reduce weight hasn't really been a success.

Together with carbonfibre development company SGL, BMW has invested heavily in raising global carbonfibre production to meet the volumes required for the production of the i3 and the i8 hybrid sportscar.