BMW launches electric iX2 in Australia, at around same price as petrol variants

German luxury carmaker BMW has announced the launch of a new generation of its popular X2 range in Australia, including the first electric variants which come in around the same price as the petrol versions.

The company announced on Wednesday that it will offer two full battery electric versions of the X2, the standard iX2 and the X2 M35i xDrive performance variant.

They are priced at $82,900 and $85,700 respectively – before on roads – which sits below the luxury tax threshold, and in between the two petrol variants – the X2 xDrive20i and the X2 M35i xDrive, which are priced at $75,000 and $92,000 respectively, and before on roads.

The more affordable iX2 xDrive20 will launch later this year and will feature a 65kWh battery, a likely range of 455 kms (WLTP),  a single front-mounted motor, some 150kW of power and 250Nm of torque.

The higher specced  iX2 xDrive30 features the same sized 65kWh battery, but with power of 230kW and torque of 494Nm, which means its range is reduced to 395 kms, but it will leap from 0-100 km/h in 5.6 seconds rather 8.6 seconds.

BMW says the power consumption for the iX2 is rated at 18.5kWh per 100 kilometres and adds that a DC charge at up to 130kW takes only 29 minutes to charge from 10 to 80 per cent. Max AC charging peaks at 22kW.

Added in with purchase of the iX2 is a 12-month complementary Chargefox subscription.

In terms of storage, the iX2 offers between 525 and 1,400 litres depending on how you arrange the seats. Featuring many of the same standard equipment as the iX1, the iX2 offers only a few differences, including larger wheels, acoustic glazing, and a lack of roof rails.

Inside, the iX2 offers a widescreen curved display consisting of a 10.7-inch infotainment screen and a 10.3-inch digital dashboard. The infotainment system is compatible with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto but is powered by BMW’s iDrive 9, which is based on Android’s open-source platform.