BMW starts series production of the iX2

The iX2, presented in October, can already be configured online. List prices for the iX2 xDrive30 start from 56,500 euros in Germany. In the UK, the BMW iX2 xDrive30 M Sport starts at £57,445.

However, BMW does not mention when deliveries of the iX2, which is initially only available as an all-wheel drive vehicle, will begin. At the premiere, there was general talk of early 2024.

The sister model iX1 has also been coming off the production line in Regensburg for about a year. In addition to the combustion engine derivatives of the two compact X models, the 1 series is also built there. Across these three model series, BMW assembles 1,000 vehicles per day – but does not give a rough distribution between the model series and their electric models. Since the different drive systems are built on one line, production between combustion engines and electric drives is flexible.

With the SOP of the new X2 and the additional production volumes, the Regensburg plant is switching to a three-shift operation with immediate effect. A night shift will supplement the existing early and late shifts. By the end of the year, the BMW Group in Regensburg will have permanently hired around 500 new employees at the site and invested over 350 million euros in vehicle production.

“With production of the BMW X2 and its fully-electric variant, the BMW iX2, we continue to set the pace, here in Regensburg, for the ramp-up of electromobility,” says Plant Director Armin Ebner. “That we are now building a second fully-electric model here in Upper Palatinate will boost the site’s production volume.”

BMW now also implements numerous aspects of its “iFactory” production strategy in Regensburg. According to the company, Regensburg is “the automotive industry’s first plant worldwide” to use, for example, an end-to-end digitalised and automated process for inspection, machining and marking of painted vehicle surfaces by AI (artificial intelligence)-controlled robots in series production.

The plant also has an EV component production facility. In Regensburg, BMW started painting battery cells in April 2021. In the process, the aluminium housings of the prismatic cells are coated with a thick varnish, which, according to BMW, increases the mechanical robustness and thermal conductivity of the battery cell. By the end of 2021, painting was expanded from one to four lines, and assembly of the high-voltage batteries started in October 2022.

Update 25 March 2024

BMW has introduced the iX2 to the UK market, priced from £51,615OTR. Deliveries are commencing this month. As previously reported, the electric SUV can handle a range of up to 283 miles, and accelerate from 0-62 mph in 5.4 seconds. Deliveries are expected to commence this month.

bmwgroup.com, bmwgroup.com, bmw.co.uk (both update)