According to Chinese media, BMW has officially released images of the iX3 Long Wheelbase ahead of its world premiere at Auto China 2026 in Beijing this April. Chinese market sales are set for the second half of the year. Locally badged as the iX3 50L and wearing “Brilliance BMW” badges, this is the first long-wheelbase all-electric Sports Activity Vehicle on BMW’s Neue Klasse platform, and probably the most China-specific product the brand has ever built. It’s developed and made by the BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture at the Shenyang plant in Liaoning province.
A wheelbase that puts it in X5 territory
The information coming from China says that the wheelbase stretches to 3,005 mm, up 108 mm from the standard iX3, with every millimeter of that going to rear-seat legroom. Overall: 4,885 mm long, 1,895 mm wide, 1,635 mm tall. The number worth paying attention to: the iX3 LWB has a 30 mm longer wheelbase than the combustion X3 LWB and matches the current X5.
Different Door Handles
It sounds minor until you hear the backstory. China now restricts flush electronically-controlled-only door handles after incidents where crash victims couldn’t exit because power to the doors failed. So the iX3 LWB gets a semi-enclosed rear handle design instead of the retractable flush units on the global model, combined with a triple-redundancy door access system: high-voltage battery supply, a 12V battery backup, and a mechanical failsafe.
GB 48001-2026, the new standard covering this, takes effect January 1, 2027. BMW engineered the iX3 LWB to meet it from the start rather than retrofit it later, which makes it one of the first Western-brand vehicles to do so.
Powertrain: Same as the global iX3 50 xDrive
The iX3 LWB uses the same powertrain as the global iX3 50 xDrive. A 108 kWh battery paired with a front asynchronous motor and a rear excited synchronous motor puts out 345 kW (463 hp) and 645 Nm. Zero to 100 km/h takes 4.9 seconds. The 800V architecture supports peak DC charging at 400 kW, enough to add 427 km (265 miles) of range in about 10 minutes; a 10-to-80 percent charge takes roughly 21 minutes. BMW rates range at over 900 km (559 miles) on the Chinese CLTC cycle. CLTC runs optimistically compared to WLTP — for context, the global iX3 50 xDrive gets 805 km on WLTP and an estimated 644 km on the EPA cycle.
Software: 70% developed in China
This is where the iX3 LWB and the global model really part ways. Around 70 percent of the software in BMW Operating System X was engineered in China. The partner list covers most of the local tech landscape: Alibaba and DeepSeek handle the LLM powering the voice assistant; Amap supplies 3D navigation tuned to China’s complex interchange layouts; Huawei provides HarmonyOS Next integration, HiCar connectivity, and Digital Key. For driver assistance, BMW co-developed a full-scene navigation system with Momenta, an autonomous driving startup, covering highway and urban scenarios via its Flywheel end-to-end model.
Differences in Design
There are also other China-specific features. Rear passengers get a panoramic sunroof, deeper seatback recline, adjustable thigh support, and wireless charging in the armrest. The car is clearly built for the person sitting behind the driver.
The iX3 LWB mostly carries over the design of the global model. But there is one obvious change: a new central rear camera sits in the segmented roof spoiler. Nine colors are available, including Frozen Space Silver.
Production and rollout
The BMW iX3 50L xDrive starts production at Shenyang in June 2026. The iX3 30L and 40L xDrive variants follow in September. An M Performance version, the M60L xDrive, is expected by mid-2027. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet; BMW says that comes closer to launch.
After China, BMW plans to sell the iX3 LWB in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India. This is one of more than 20 new vehicles BMW is bringing to China in 2026, part of a broader effort to recover ground lost to domestic EV brands over the past couple of years.
[Source: CarNewsChina]
First published by https://bit.ly/3sM6JoH
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