BMW Group surprised the media at its annual conference in Munich with the reveal of the fully electric i4 gran coupe, three months ahead of schedule.

The i4 four-door Gran Coupé and will enter the market during the course of 2021, including a M Performance model, says BMW. 

“Its refined balance of BMW typical sportiness, comfort and sustainable performance are unique in its segment,” BMW’s statement said.

"The decision to launch three months early was easy," according to CEO Oliver Zipse, who outlined how BMW is "picking up the pace" with respect to the electrification of its line-up. Full specifications will be announced in the coming weeks.  

The BMW i4 model line will be available in different versions covering ranges of up to 590km. With a power output of up to 390kW, the BMW i4 can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in around 4 seconds.

“With its sporty looks, best in class driving dynamics and zero local emissions, the BMW i4 is a true BMW. It makes the heart of the BMW brand now beat fully electric,” said Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Customer, Brands, Sales.

The i4's debut comes as BMW unveils a plan to radically overhaul its approach to electric car development from 2025.

This includes the introduction of the iX range, electric SUVs, with the iX xDrive40 and BMW iX xDrive50 arriving in New Zealand in Q4 this year.

In excess of 370kW and 240kW developed by BMW iX xDrive50 and iX xDrive40 drive systems, allowing standard sprint times of five and six seconds respectively.

The xDrive50 has a range of more than 600km and 400km for xDrive40. They will also be the first model to feature the all-new BMW iDrive system including BMW Operating System 8.

Pricing and specifications will be announced closer to its New Zealand launch, but the two models are important for BMW here to take on the likes of Tesla’s Model X, Mercedes-Benz EQC and Audi’s e-tron, plus Jaguar’s i-Pace in the premium vehicle line-up.

“Technology is driving the advances we need to tackle the greatest challenges,” said Zipse.

 “This applies in particular to climate protection. We are in no doubt: mobility has to be sustainable if it is to represent a truly outstanding solution. For the BMW Group, premium mobility is not possible without responsibility.”

 Nota added: “We made a promise and we will deliver on that promise: the market launch of the BMW iX will get underway at the end of this year with a two-pronged approach – in the form of the BMW iX xDrive40 and BMW iX xDrive50.”

The new charging technology of the BMW iX enables DC (direct current) fast charging with extremely high charging power. The BMW iX xDrive50 can replenish its high-voltage battery at up to 200kW, while the maximum charging capacity of the BMW iX xDrive40 is 150kW.

This means that a 10-minute plug-in time provides sufficient energy to add more than 120 kilometres and 90 kilometres of range respectively. In both model variants, the high-voltage battery’s charge can be increased from 10 to 80 per cent of its full capacity in less than 40 minutes.

The new technology toolkit making its debut in the BMW iX also provides the platform for significant progress in the areas of automated driving and digital services. For example, the level of computing power has been developed to process 20 times the data volume of previous models. As a result, around double the amount of data from vehicle sensors can be processed than was previously possible.

“We are setting new industry standards with the technology in the BMW iX,” said Frank Weber, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development.

“The iX has more computing power for data processing and more powerful sensor technology than the newest vehicles in our current line-up, is 5G-capable, will be given new and improved automated driving and parking functions and uses the high-performing fifth generation of our electric drive system.”