BMW has opened pre-sales for its “Neue Klasse” iX3 at the Chengdu Auto Show on August 21. The model has already secured tens of thousands of preliminary orders, while facing a peculiar sales challenge: a total lack of showroom display cars, as reported by 36KR.

The iX3 is priced between 269,900 yuan (39,700 USD) and 339,900 yuan (49,900 USD). According to dealers interviewed by 36KR, the response has been overwhelming, with some core-region stores reporting nearly 80 preliminary orders each within the first week.

However, this sales achievement comes with a caveat. Because physical display cars are not expected to reach more than 500 dealerships nationwide until late October, sales teams have been forced to sell the vehicle based solely on product brochures and digital images. “We aren’t selling cars, we are selling pictures,” lamented one veteran BMW salesperson.

The surge in “blind orders” suggests that BMW’s brand equity remains potent and its product specifications are finally aligning with those of emerging EV competitors. The top-trim iX3 features large cylindrical batteries delivering a CLTC range of 919 km. Official tests around Qinghai Lake have confirmed a real-world range exceeding 800 km.

The iX3 features end-to-end autonomous driving developed in collaboration with Momenta – which is standard across all trims – and an intelligent cockpit integrated with both Alibaba’s Qwen and DeepSeek large language models to enhance voice interaction.

The risk of “future delivery”
Despite the initial excitement, BMW faces a precarious timeline. While the first batch of deliveries is slated for November, large-scale delivery will not materialise until 2027. Some users may have to wait until January 31, 2027, to confirm their orders.

In a market where “launch-to-delivery” cycles are typically two months, BMW’s five-month window creates a risk of order attrition. To mitigate this, BMW has introduced a “waiting points” mechanism, gifting users 100 BMW member points per day until delivery. For a user waiting until January 2027, this accumulates to approximately 16,000 points, valued at roughly 4,000 yuan (600 USD).

BMW sources told 36KR that the delay stems from a commitment to quality, as many new technologies are undergoing final verification to ensure stability before reaching customers.

Source: CarNewsChina (View original)