The BMW iX is the best the Bavarian automaker has to offer, tech-wise. It’s built on its own bespoke architecture, itself quite high-tech, it has the brand’s latest electric powertrain technology, and it even boasts BMW’s best software. It’s literally the technological pinnacle of the BMW brand at the moment. In this new video, we get to learn a bit more about the iX’s tech, specifically its powertrain.
Powering the BMW iX is the brand’s latest Gen5 electric drive unit. In this BMW iX xDrive50-spec, there are actually two drive units, one at the rear axle and one at the front. Each drive unit consists of the electric motor, the one-speed transmission, and all requisite electronics, all of which are packed into one compact unit. According to BMW, it’s free of magnets and other rare-earth materials, while also being 93-percent efficient.
Total system power for the BMW iX xDrive50 is 385 kW (516 horsepower), which also makes it the most powerful electrified BMW in history. It should get from 0-60 mph in the low four second range, which is around as quick as the X5 M50i.
Sending juice to the drive units is a 111.5 kWh battery pack (105.2 kWh net), making it the largest battery ever fitted to a BMW vehicle. During this presentation, we were able to see the battery pack up close and how its modular cells can easily be swapped if needed. It’s clever stuff.
BMW also claims the iX can achieve 205 kW charging speed, which would make it among the fastest charging EVs in the business. There are a few brands that have faster charging speeds; Tesla, Audi, and Lucid, but the BMW iX still charges extremely fast.
Check out some of the cool tech behind the iX.
