Two of Europe’s biggest luxury names just rolled out brand new electric SUVs built on brand new platforms, and they landed within weeks of each other. Volvo started handing over the first EX60 to customers in Sweden on July 16, and BMW has just locked in United States pricing for the iX3, its first model on the all new Neue Klasse platform, ahead of a September 25 launch. If you care about where premium EVs are headed next, and what will eventually land in Indian showrooms wearing these badges, this is the matchup to watch.
What is actually new here
Both cars are ground up rethinks, not facelifted versions of an older EV. Volvo’s EX60 rides on the new SPA3 platform, which uses something called mega casting: instead of welding together dozens of small metal panels, big sections of the body are cast as single pieces. Combine that with cell to body battery construction, where the battery pack is built directly into the car’s structure instead of being bolted in as a separate unit, and you get a lighter, stiffer SUV.
BMW’s answer is Neue Klasse, its first ground up EV architecture since the old i3. The iX3 runs sixth generation BMW eDrive tech with cylindrical battery cells, which pack in more energy than the flatter pouch cells BMW used before, and an 800 volt electrical system. Think of 800 volts as a wider pipe: it lets the car pull a lot more power at once from a fast charger, which is why both these SUVs can top up seriously fast.
Range and charging, by the numbers
| Spec | Volvo EX60 (P12 AWD, top range) | BMW iX3 50 xDrive |
| Claimed range | 810 km (WLTP) | 698 km / 434 miles (EPA) |
| Fast charging | 340 km added in 10 minutes on a 400 kW charger | 298 km (185 miles) added in 10 minutes |
| 10 to 80 percent charge time | 16 minutes | 21 minutes |
| US starting price | Not disclosed, Volvo says it will be priced in line with the XC60 plug in hybrid | $62,850 (roughly ₹52 to 53 lakh before Indian import duties) |
A quick reality check on that range gap: WLTP, the European test cycle, and EPA, the American one, do not measure range the same way. WLTP tends to be more generous, so the EX60’s 810 km figure and the iX3’s 434 mile (698 km) figure are not a perfectly clean apples to apples fight. Even accounting for that, Volvo looks to have the range edge on paper, while BMW currently claims the faster charge, at least until Volvo’s own independently verified numbers land.
Two legacy brands just bet their next decade of EVs on totally new engineering. Early scorecard: Volvo wins on range, BMW wins on charging speed, and buyers win either way from how fast this technology is moving.
Why this matters if you are in India
Neither car has an official India price or launch date yet, so treat anything else you read about Indian pricing right now as guesswork. What is confirmed is that Neue Klasse is the platform BMW is building all its future electric cars on, and SPA3 is doing the same job for Volvo. That means whatever gets sorted out in Europe and the US this year is exactly what will eventually show up on an India spec sheet, most likely as locally assembled, long wheelbase versions a year or two down the line. Worth bookmarking this one.
