The BMW X3 Thread

Local is lekker: BMW showcases its all-new X3 — SA-built, performance-driven, future-ready

The M50 xDrive is a doozy to drive

It accelerates quickly, also with piped exhaust noise in the cabin. It feels like there’s no end to the torque and will accelerate happily to its limited speed and sit there all day.

Sadly, because of the constant rain and heavily congested roads, we couldn’t experience everything it has to offer, so we’ll have to wait until we get it on test to fully see what it can do.

We did, however, manage to keep consumption under 10L/100km.

Your head tells you the 20d is the sensible option, the 30e makes you feel good about the bunnies, but your heart wants the M50.

Either way, the build quality, precision fittings, refined driving, and noise suppression make you proud to say: Built in SA!

Pricing (February 2025)

X3 20d xDrive: R1 136 417

X3 20d xDrive M Sport: R1 186 417

X3 30e xDrive: R1 260 000

X3 30e xDrive M Sport: R1 310 000

X3 M50 xDrive: R1 545 447

 
Bold new 2026 BMW iX3 confirmed for September reveal

BMW to begin era of Neue Klasse EVs with launch of crucial new Audi Q6 E-tron rival for 2026

The next era of BMW will arrive in September, with the first Neue Klasse electric car, iX3 SUV, confirmed to be revealed at the Munich motor show.

Previewed last year by the bold Neue Klasse Vision X concept (below), the second-generation iX3 will be the first of BMW's new family of EVs, riding on the Gen6 platform, which promises significant improvements in range, functionality and cost.

The iX3 will hit roads in 2026 as a rival to the Audi Q6 E-tron, Polestar 3 and forthcoming electric Mercedes-Benz GLC.

www.autocar.co.uk

The BMW iX3 is on its way back to showrooms - but not as you knew it... | Autocar

BMW to begin era of Neue Klasse EVs with launch of crucial new Audi Q6 E-tron rival for 2026
www.autocar.co.uk www.autocar.co.uk
 
BMW confirms the first Neue Klasse car – the iX3 – will arrive in September ‘25

Munich debut for the first of six next-gen German electric cars

We knew it was going to be the next iX3. You knew it was going to be the next iX3. Now BMW has once again confirmed that yes, the first of six new ‘Neue Klasse’ electric cars will indeed be the next iX3.

And BMW boss Oliver Zipse confirmed der neue Neue Klasse iX3 will be unveiled this September at a motor show in Munich. Soon after that, der neue Neue Klasse we’re all waiting for will arrive: the electric 3 Series-sized saloon.

But first, this SUV. As you can see it’s currently undergoing a punishing bootcamp regime in South Africa putting its lung capacity, speed, stamina and all manner of inapplicable analogies to the test. Heart, too.

Of course electric cars don’t have lungs, but this one does have capacity – the batteries it deploys are 20 per cent more energy dense than what’s available today. Plus, the entire car – and Neue Klasse series – runs on 800V architecture.

 
BMW ‘Neue Klasse’ iX3 confirmed for 2025, kicks off 40-model product blitz

BMW is promising an avalanche of fresh metal, with the Bavarian carmaker planning to release over 40 new or updated vehicles by 2027, in what it calls an “unprecedented” product ramp-up.

Key among these is the new-generation BMW iX3 electric SUV, which will go into production at the Debrecen plant in Hungary towards the end of 2025.

Unlike the outgoing iX3, which is closely based on the X3 combustion model, the new-generation iX3 ushers in a completely new EV-specific vehicle architecture that will underpin the “Neue Klasse” family of vehicles.

BMW released a teaser image of the new iX3 during its Annual Conference 2025, flaunting styling inspired by the Vision Neue Klasse X concept vehicle of 2024. The company plans to launch additional Neue Klasse models subsequently, including a new saloon in 2026 that will be the electric equivalent of a 3 Series.

But it’s not only the EVs that will benefit from the Neue Klasse development.

New technology clusters will also be integrated throughout the entire BMW product line-up based on the established modularity principle, with numerous patents having been registered for aspects such as display projection technologies and driving dynamics control functions.

“All future BMW models will benefit from the innovations of the Neue Klasse - as well as from the new design language,” BMW said.

The iX3 will also usher in a completely new interior display and intelligent operating system called BMW Panoramic iDrive. The new system can project content and information across the full width of the windscreen.


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Here’s how many BMW X3 units were built in SA in 2024

Exactly how many BMW X3 units were built at Plant Rosslyn in South Africa in 2024? Here’s a look at the official production figures for last year…

At the recent BMW Group Annual Conference, the Munich-based automaker shared all sorts of interesting facts and figures, including exactly how many BMW X3 units were produced at Plant Rosslyn in South Africa last year.

As a reminder, the BMW Group – which comprises the BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad brands – reported a worldwide sales figure of 2 450 804 units for 2024. For the record, that represents a 4.0% year-on-year decline.

Last year, the BMW Group manufactured a total of 2 513 830 vehicles (or 2 729 557, including BMW Motorrad products), down 5.6% year on year. BMW’s Spartanburg factory in the United States built the most vehicles at 396 117 (or 15.8% of the automobile total).

Dadong (China), Regensburg (Germany), Dingolfing (Germany), Tiexi (China), Leipzig (Germany), Munich (Germany) and Oxford (United Kingdom) all likewise reported 6-figure production numbers in 2024, with San Luis Potosí (Mexico) falling just short on 95 236 units


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