It is all about having a designer BMW in the garage for the wealthy Malaysian.
In Malaysia, the BMW ownership starts from the upper middle class right up to the super rich BMW X7 buyer (priced at RM708,000) who wants a luxury SUV to go to the golf club on a weekday morning.
Then there is the EV ownership. Only for the wealthy in Malaysia as low priced electric vehicles do not get the sales numbers like luxury EV brands.
BMW X5 xDrive45e
For the Malaysian sitting economically one rung below the X7 buyer, the X5 xDrive45e PHEV (priced at RM440,745) is nearly as grand and imposing to own, from the Telco boss to the Tesco boss.
The idea of getting a hefty sales and import tax discount on plug-in hybrid makes the deal even sweeter and for most owners there is little thought about saving fuel with the battery system provided.
This second generation plug-in hybrid SAV combines the purely electrically powered driving pleasure of a BMW plug-in hybrid model with the versatility that is typical of a Sports Activity Vehicle.
This BMW X5 xDrive45e offers both driving dynamics and efficiency. With an electrically powered range of 67 to 87 kilometres in the new WLTP test cycle or some 86 to 97 kilometres according to the NEDC test cycle, the figure achieved by the predecessor model has been more than tripled. It has been a hot seller until a couple of weeks ago, Why?
Meet the all electric direct rival. From the same company. The BMW iX xDrive40.
With this all new BMW electric powered only luxury SUV, the iX XDrive40 (priced at RM419,640), the situation is very different. This full electric SUV gets a small import and sales tax put on it and this is why its selling price is lower over the X5 PHEV by just over RM20k.
However, it is not the RM20k savings that shifts a buyer’s attention when visiting any BMW showroom in Malaysia. It is the exterior looks, interior design and the whole social engagement experience of owning and driving an iX in their social circle. While everyone else arrives in a run of the mill BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Porsche SUV, ‘you’ arrive in the BMW iX and this makes it a ‘designer car’ that will cannibalize sales from the BMW X4 which is priced at RM375,800 and also the X5.
Conceived from the outset for purely electric mobility, the iX sees BMW redefining the successful Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) concept.
The BMW iX harnesses the latest innovations in the fields of electrification, automated driving and connectivity to deliver a mobility experience which puts people more than ever at its heart.
This fifth generation of BMW eDrive technology encompasses two electric motors, the power electronics, the charging technology and the high-voltage battery that guarantees efficiency.
The power unit developed by the BMW Group and manufactured sustainably without the use of critical raw materials known as rare earths will, by the most recent calculations, develop maximum output of more than 500hp. That will be enough to power the BMW iX from 0 to 100km/h in under 5.0 seconds.
The X5 xDrive45e PHEV has 600Nm but accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in just 5.6 seconds.
Plus, there is DC fast charging: over 120 kilometres of extra range in ten minutes
The new charging technology of the BMW iX enables DC fast charging at up to 200 kW. In this way, the battery can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent of its full capacity in under 40 minutes. Added to which, within ten minutes enough energy can be fed into the battery to increase the car’s range by more than 120 kilometres. It takes less than eleven hours to charge the high-voltage battery from 0 to 100 per cent at 11 kW from a Wallbox.
