The BMW i3 is a decade old now. It was BMW’s first purpose-built all-electric offering and marked the beginning of the BMW i sub-brand.
BMW is obviously no stranger to electrification tech, as evidenced by their current range of all-electric vehicles including the iX SUV, the i4 Gran Coupe, the iX3 SUV and the i7 luxury saloon (not forgetting the soon-to-be-launched i5 saloon).
And ten years on, BMW is doubling down on their EV offensive with the new BMW iX1, which presents itself as the brand’s most compact all-electric offering since the BMW i3.
Things have changed considerably in the decade-long gap between the i3 and iX1. EVs have now soared in popularity and are rapidly approaching mass adoption. Which brings us back to the car at hand. The i3 is now ageing, superseded by constantly improving batteries and more efficient electric motors – elements which are clear and present in the iX1.
So putting BMW’s own 5th generation eDrive tech into an X1 SUV only serves to cement the importance of the iX1 in today’s crossover-saturated market.
