BMW confirms X3 EV, electric Mini to debut in 3 years

Set to keep up with competitors like Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen Group, BMW’s electric vehicle range will grow much larger in the coming years.

The German carmaker wants to expand its electric vehicle segment with the addition of electric vehicles of the next-gen X3 and models from Mini.

BMW was not clear with specifications of the new additions but speculations suggest that the new Mini EV will arrive in around three years.

Folks at the Munich-based company are reportedly hard at work readying its next-gen X3 which will likely see the light of the sunshine in 2017.

We also wouldn’t be surprised if BMW revives the Mini E moniker for the new model from its less expensive brand. The original (pictured above) debuted in 2008 as part of a market test program for electric vehicles, and they were only available for lease. The 240km range was pretty good for EVs at the time. Many of those people liked the hatchback so much, they kept the vehicle an extra year.

BMW is being very careful about its future EV strategy. For example, the company sent just one top executive to the recent Paris Motor Show. The rest held a meeting that hammered out a master plan for launching electric models.

There was reportedly a rift among the bosses over how much to invest in the technology after slow sales for the i3 and i8.

BMW’s major rivals aren’t hesitating to invest in EVs, and they previewed the future at the Paris Motor Show. Mercedes-Benz revealed the Generation EQ concept as a luxury crossover with 300kW and 700 Nm of torque. In contrast, the VW ID Concept imagined a more affordable model that could go on sale by 2020.