BMW has announced production of its highly anticipation iX electric SUV has been pushed. The electric SUV which is slated to take on top names like the Tesla Model X, was originally planned to enter production at BMW’s Dingolfing plant by the end of this year. Now we are learning that its going to be a bit longer before the iX sees production lines.
Although not surprising, it isn’t clear if the iX delays were COVID-19 related or caused by the global semiconductor shortage. Regardless of the cause, BMW has now announced that it is pushing back iX production to March 2022.
Deliveries of the iX were expected to begin early 2022, so the timeline hasn’t shifted too dramatically. With the delay in production, we should still expect to see iX units in 2022, just a little later in the year.
BMW has yet to release a suggested price, but the similarities seen in the iX compared to BMW’s X5 SUV has led some people to believe it will start around $70,000, when including the added costs of battery manufacturing.
The BMW iX is built around the CLAR version of BMW’s fifth-generation electric drivetrain architecture and an aluminum spaceframe. According to the company, its platform is a “totally new development” but “highly compatible” with the modular CLAR platform allowing BMW to produce the iX alongside combustion engines at the Dingolfing plant.