All-electric iNEXT SUV on target
OFFICIAL BMW’s dedicated electric SUV will offer a long battery range and Level 3 autonomous driving
ELSEWHERE at BMW, preparations are being laid for a brand new, all-electric flagship SUV that will be quite unlike anything else in the brand’s line-up, according to one of the company’s top designers.
Speaking with Auto Express, BMW Head of Design Domagoj Dukec shone a little more light on the electric SUV project. He confirmed its production name will be iNEXT, and it will be the “pinnacle” of the BMW line-up when it arrives in 2021.
“The iNEXT will be a purpose-built product, and it stands for something different,” he explained, outlining how it won’t be an electric version of an existing BMW SUV.
“It’s coming with a complete new electric system, a new interior, a completely new experience of SUVs. It’s not called i7 or i5: it’s called iNEXT, where already you have the X inside, and it stands for ‘what is next for SUVs?’.”
The iNEXT will debut Level 3 semiautonomous driver aids currently in development by BMW, use an all-electric platform and new motor technology. A range of up to 373 miles (600km) on a single charge is being targeted by engineers.
According to Dukec, the iNEXT will be a unique SUV design, mixing proportions and shapes of established models.
“We’re going to have a glass roof like on the concept car. You have the height of the X6, the size of the X5 and the interior space of the X7. This is the advantage of a purpose-built car,” he explained.
Elsewhere, BMW infotainment boss Dr Christoph Grote has hinted that there will be a “major update” to BMW’s iDrive system to coincide with the release of the iNEXT, strongly suggesting that it will be the launch vehicle for the iDrive 8.0 system in 2021.
“The iNEXT is a purposebuilt product, with a new electric system, a new interior, a new SUV experience”
DOMAGOJ DUKEC BMW Head of Design