First China-made BMW to arrive next year
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The electric BMW iX3 sport-utility vehicle is expected to be priced at around $250,000 with COE.
PHOTO: BMW
SINGAPORE - German carmaker BMW will import its first China-made model for the Singapore market from third quarter next year (2021).
The electric BMW iX3 sport-utility vehicle is made in BMW's plant in Dadong, China. It is expected to be priced at around $250,000 with COE and will be the first China-sourced BMW to arrive here.
A BMW Asia spokesman said: "We understand that some customers may be curious about this, but we can assure them that the quality level is the same in all BMW plants around the world."
When asked about this model last year, the German company said then that there was no plan "in the near future" to bring the iX3 to Singapore. On Tuesday (July 14), it said it had changed its stance on the back of additional government support for electric vehicles announced in the Budget in February.
BMW is not the first premium car brand to import vehicles from China. Last January, China-owned Swedish marque Volvo Cars began selling its China-made S90 flagship sedan and XC60 mid-sized crossover here.
The iX3 is also BMW's first model to be exported from its Chinese plant.
The car has a claimed driving range of up to 460km on a single charge. Its electric motor produces a maximum output of 210kW and a peak torque of 400Nm, allowing the mid-size car to accelerate from zero to 100kmh in 6.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 180kmh.
The car can be charged at a high-powered 150kW fast charger, which can juice up the battery from empty to 80 per cent full in 34 minutes, with each 10 minutes adding 100km of driving range.
Land Transport Authority statistics note that there were only 1,147 full-electric cars here as at May 31 - or 0.18 per cent of the car population.
The Singapore government has pledged to make it more attractive for people to buy electric models, including building more charging points and revising taxes pertaining to such cars.
Motor industry watchers said the viability of electric cars still hinges on a planned revision to the Vehicular Emissions Scheme, which accords tax rebates and surcharges according to a vehicle's emissions.
The current scheme expires at the end of this year, following a one-year extension last year.
The National Environment Agency has told The Straits Times that it will announce changes ahead of the scheme's expiry.
