BMW iX Australian pricing confirmed: EV “technology flagship” undercuts Mercedes-Benz EQC rival

There’s a new EV player (almost) in town, with BMW iX Australian pricing confirmed for Australia. The all-new EV effectively undercuts its Mercedes-Benz EQC rival ($141,400), with a starting price of $135,900 for the iX xDrive40.

Billed as a “technology flagship that debuts a new toolkit for the future”, the BMW iX range will land in Australia in Q4 this year, effectively putting the German brand on the electric SUV map for the first time in this country.

It means BMW is late to the party of the German big three, with the iX arriving after the Mercedes-Benz EQC, Jaguar I-Pace and Audi e-Tron (and e-Tron Sportback), but the brand is hoping it has saved the best til last. 

Available in iX xDrive40 and xDrive50 formats, the story starts at the 40, and your $135,900 investment will earn you huge 21-inch alloys, LED headlights, keyless entry and start, seats that are both heated and offer a massage function in the front, a Harman-Kardon sound system with Apple CarPlay, a tanned leather interior and the very cool BMW Live Cockpit Pro.

Like all iX models, BMW will also include a five-year subscription to Chargefox – allowing free charging across the Chargefox network – and all the cable options you need to recharge wherever you’d like.

The range then steps up to the xDrive40 Sport ($141,900), which adds a sportier exterior look – think black high-gloss front apron, darkened headlights and darkened taillights – bigger 22-inch alloys and sports brakes.

Finally, you can have iX xDrive50 Sport ($169,900), which delivers you a panoramic glass roof, laser headlights, active steering and air suspension.

Under that shapely skin, the xDrive40 packs a 77kWh lithium (some of which comes from Australia) battery, which will deliver a driving range of 425km. Its twin electric motors (one front and one rear) make a combined 240kW and 630Nm – enough for a sprint to 100km/h in 6.1 seconds.

The xDrive50, however, delivers a sizeable 385kW and 765Nm, dropping the sprint to a sprightly 4.6 seconds. And thanks to its bigger 112kWh battery, your driving range improves to 630km, too. 

When it comes to charging, AC and DC is available, but BMW says 200kW DC charging (150kW in the iX xDrive40) will see your charge increase from 10 to 80 percent in 35 minutes in the xDrive50, or 31 minutes in the iX xDrive40. 

If time is of the essence, the xDrive50 can accrue 150km in driving range in just 10 minutes, while the iX xDrive40 can take on 95 kilometres.

With BMW iX Australian pricing confirmed, the countdown is now on to the Q4 launch.

And for those with more patience there will be a more powerful iX xDrive M60 in 2022.