BMW has fully announced the first-ever i4 and iX EV’s and both will be available in South Africa in the first quarter of 2022.
The BMW i4
The i4 four-door gran coupé will be available with a choice of powertrains choices but the press release for South Africa makes no mention of anything else but the range-topping i4 M50 version. That suggests we will only be getting that variant that packs all-wheel-drive. It gets an electric motor on each axle with a total output of 536 hp (400 kW). When you need a large amount of power, the car will trigger Sport Boost which unfurls not only the drive system’s maximum output but also the maximum system torque of 795 Nm. This enables the BMW M model to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. The range is up to a respectable 510 km in the WLTP cycle.
The BMW i4 model in South Africa is supplied complete with the BMW Charging Card, a Flexible Fast Charger for charging at up to 11 kW and a mode 2 charging cable.
Inside, there is a 12.3-inch information display and 14.9-inch control screen that share a frameless bezel to appear like a single entity. The infotainment system runs the iDrive 8 software and supports over-the-air updates.
The BMW iX
If a crossover is more your style, then the new BMW iX is for you. It will be launched with a choice of two model variants. Both are equipped with an electric all-wheel-drive system, with a combined output of 516 hp (385 kW) in the BMW iX xDrive50 and 240 kW in the BMW iX xDrive40. The drive technology’s efficiency paired to the very latest battery cell technology results in WLTP-calculated ranges of up to 630 km in the BMW iX xDrive50 and up to 425 km in the BMW iX xDrive40.
The BMW iX xDrive50 posts acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds, while the BMW iX xDrive40 hits the same mark from rest in 6.1 seconds.
Like the i4, the crossover has a 12.3-inch information display and a 14.9-inch control screen in a single, curved bezel. It runs iDrive 8. A head-up display shows the speed, navigation details, warnings from driver assistance systems, and other data
BMW also confirms that a more powerful iX M60 is on the way for a future introduction. It boasts over 600 hp (447 kW).
