The next-generation BMW iX1 small electric SUV has been spotted getting charged up during European testing.
While the current iX1 shares its architecture and body with petrol, diesel, and plug-in hybrid-powered X1 variants, the next generation of BMW’s smallest electric SUV will differ significantly from the combustion-powered X1 line.
That’s because it will be based on a shortened version of the German auto brand’s EV-only Neue Klasse platform that made its debut earlier this year with the new iX3, and which will also underpin the upcoming i3 sedan.
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The new iX3 features an 800V electrical architecture that, in top-spec versions, supports DC fast-charging up to 400kW. At launch, the iX3 will be available in 50 xDrive trim with a dual-motor setup making a total of 345kW and 645Nm, and a 108kWh battery good for a claimed WLTP range of 805km.
A single-motor variant with a smaller battery will become available globally from 2026, and should offer around 600km of range.
This iX1 prototype is fitted with plenty of false body panels and disguise tape to hide many of its styling elements, but we can already see its overall design looks like a shrunken version of the iX3.
Up front there’s a thin, conjoined double kidney grille flanked by a chunky lighting strip, and along the side there are flush-fitting pop-out door handles.
Our spy photography agency also got a peek inside the cabin. While most of the interior is covered up, we can see the iX1 uses the same parallelogram-shaped floating touchscreen as the iX3. Like its bigger sibling, the iX1’s interior seems largely devoid of buttons.
The only physical switches visible are in the centre tunnel, and they control the transmission, electric parking brake, hazard lights, and demister.
It seems as though the iX1 will also be available with Panorama Vision, a narrow row of instrumentation displays that stretches across the width of the car where the windscreen and the dashboard meet.
With the i3 sedan due to be unveiled next year, it’s likely the new iX1 won’t be available globally until 2027.