The first-generation BMW iX3 is on its way out as production ends in 2025. As a matter of fact, the order books already cover the remaining production run. That’s why you can’t configure the electric crossover anymore. Before it goes away, the “G08” model is entering the police force in Hungary. No fewer than 10 vehicles were delivered to nine police forces in the European country.
The EVs are part of a program established by the Hungarian Mobility Development Agency HUMDA to cut fleet emissions. A grant of HUF 282.35 million (nearly €700,000) has been provided by the local Ministry of Energy with assistance from the HUMDA to buy the BMW iX3s. Two will be used by the Budapest Police Headquarters while another will go to the Police Education and Training Center. The Police Headquarters of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Somogy, Fejér, Zala, Pest, Veszprém, and Hajdú-Bihar Vármegye will each receive one vehicle.
The Hungarian police fleet has been using BMWs for the past twenty years. More than 200 BMW motorcycles are currently in use. Because the local authorities mostly operate conventionally powered vehicles, the plan is to gradually switch to zero-emission models. The local government pledges to prioritize reducing pollutants and greenhouse gases from the police fleet.
Coincidentally, the iX3’s successor (“NA5”) will be built in Hungary. Production of the Neue Klasse-based model kicks off in less than a year. The second-generation EV will be assembled at the new plant in Debrecen. Pre-production commences before the end of 2024. Running at full capacity, as many as 150,000 vehicles will be produced annually at the site. The Mexican plant in San Luis Potosí will also make the new iX3 from 2027.
The outgoing iX3 has been exclusively built in China since 2020, with a facelift introduced about a year later. It was never sold in the United States but that should change with its replacement.
Source: BMW
