The BMW X3 crossover has acquired an extended version for the first time with the change of generations — with its help, the German company wants to stop the decline in sales on the Chinese market.
BMW remains one of the most popular brands in China, but sales are slowly but surely creeping down under pressure from growing local premium brands. In the first half of this year, the BMW Group (which includes Rolls-Royce and Mini), according to the company itself, sold 376,353 cars in China, which is 4.3% less than sales in January-June 2023.
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The mid-size X3 crossover is one of the locomotives of BMW sales, its production was localized in China at the BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) joint venture in Shenyang back in the last, third generation G01, and the rear-wheel drive electric BMW iX3 with the factory index G08 is still being produced here, which turned out to be, in fact, not needed by anyone either in China or abroad. In June, the fourth-generation BMW X3 with the factory index G45 celebrated its world premiere, and now a Chinese extended version with the index G48 has been quickly concocted on its basis.
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The wheelbase of the new Chinese BMW X3 has been increased by 110 mm compared to the wheelbase of the global version of the crossover to 2975 mm, the overall length has increased by exactly the same amount — from 4755 mm to 4865 mm. The entire increase has benefited the passengers of the second row — they have more space in the new Chinese BMW X3 than in the global BMW X5. In China, the BMW X5 is also offered with an extended wheelbase, so the hierarchy of the model range is not broken.
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Meanwhile, the appearance of the new BMW X3 better suits the tastes of the Chinese consumer than the current X5, so in an extended form it can really straighten the BMW sales curve. In profile, the new Chinese BMW X3 looks even more harmonious than the global one, since the front and rear doors are almost the same length. The Chinese version also has slightly modified sills and rear bumper design, with silver squiggles added to the latter.
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From the driver's seat, the Chinese and global BMW X3s are not fundamentally different — they have the same touch panels and the most striking LED backlighting in their class. In addition, the «Chinese» offers «color music» as an option for the panoramic glass roof: color-changing LED threads repeat the pattern of the signature nostrils on the front end. The seats are upholstered in vegan leather by default.
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The technical specifications of the new BMW X3 have not yet been officially announced, as its premiere will take place only at the end of August at auto show in Chengdu, but, according to the online resource BMWblog, the extended crossover will be offered in two versions — X3 25L xDrive and X3 30L xDrive, both have a 2.0-liter gasoline turbo engine and all-wheel drive. On the X3 25L xDrive version, the maximum engine output is 190 hp and 310 Nm, on the X3 30L xDrive version — 258 hp and 400 Nm. The gearbox is only an 8-speed hydromechanical automatic.