BMW To Launch 5G-Enabled Electric Cars By End Of 2021

Automobile maker, BMW has announced it would roll out its 5G-enabled electric cars known as the iX by the end of the year 2021.

The company, while disclosing this on Wednesday during its virtual NextGen 2020 event, stated that iX - its new all-electric flagship previously known as the iNext - will get a new look and new kidney grille design but its dimensions will be similar to the existing X5 or X6 SUVs.

The company promises about 300 miles of range and 0-60 mph just under five seconds.

BMW has not released any pricing for the iX yet, however, rumors filled the air earlier this year pegging the price at close to $100,000.

The company that said it will have more than a million electrified cars on roads by the end of 2021 further revealed that about 13 percent of all BMW and MINI models registered in Europe are either all-electric or plug-in hybrids, and the expectation is that by 2030, that number will increase to 50%.

By next year, that lineup will include a number of new additions to the company’s electrified fleet, such as the next-generation eDrive system which will also feature in the 2021 i4.

BMW is also experimenting with a 5-Series model that features three of these new motors for a maximum power output of 720 hp.

The iX should be able to charge from 10 pecent to 80 percent in about 40 minutes which should be able to last for about 75 miles of driving. 

In addition to being BMW’s electric flagship, the iNext/iX unsurprisingly also showcases the company’s latest technology innovations. This is because BMW has used various iterations of its iNext concept car to think about how to best integrate new technologies into its next-generation of vehicles.

For the iX, these include all the standard driver assistance systems you’d expect today, although the details about that are currently scarce, a head-up display and large screens with a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and a 14.9-inch control display. But what’s maybe even more interesting here is the company’s  philosophy which the company describes as “shy tech.”

“Shy tech refers to technology that remains largely in the background and only reveals its functions when they are being used,” the company said in its announcement.

“On entry into the car, the function in question is the electrically powered door locks. The interior welcomes the occupants of all five seats with a luxurious lounge-style ambiance, and provides the space required to explore new ways of using time spent inside the car.”

READ MORE: BMW To Launch iNext Electric SUV Car November 11

For the most part, the user interface also strips away all distractions to allow the driver to focus on the road.

It’s no secret that BMW would like to, at some point, allow drivers to lounge in their self-driving cars. BMW hasn’t talked about the car’s driver assistant features yet, so that future hasn’t quite arrived just yet, but the company argues that by leaving out the usual centre tunnel, it can provide a more “airy and specious feel” that “accentuates the lounge-style ambience and long-distance comfort provided by the interior.”

In many ways, the iX is the current apotheosis of BMW’s electric ambitions, and it is worth noting that, unlike others, the company is keeping a lot of the development in-house. That includes its Dingolfing plant, but as the company noted, it is also developing its own battery cells and a new pilot plant for building its batteries near Munich should open in 2022.

“This pilot plant will make BMW the first carmaker to cover the entire process chain for electric driving in-house,” BMW asserts.

This wouldn’t be a major tech launch if it didn’t also feature a 5G aspect and, indeed, the iX will feature a built-in 5G connectivity, which should make it among the first, if not the first 5G-enabled production car.

Ideally, that means higher bandwidth and lower latency when the car needs to connect to the BMW cloud. But as we’ve all learned from recent phone launches, 5G is currently more of a buzzword than a game-changing technology.

What’s maybe more important here is that it may enable new C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle to Everything) solutions that will allow vehicles to communicate with each other and nearby smartphones even without a mobile network.