In March 2025, the BMW iX3 was quietly discontinued. That year, its sales plummeted from 28,000 units in 2024 to 0.8 million units, and the label "oil to electricity" pushed it to the edge of the market step by step. A year and a half later, at the 2026 Chengdu Auto Show, the new BMW iX3 long-wheelbase version reappeared at a presale price of $269,900. There are a lot of user reviews: "What else to buy a Tesla at this price!". Although, compared to the previous starting price of 405,000, this pricing is a surprise, but calm down: the old iX3 terminal has already fallen below 220,000 after the offer. Is the pre-sale price of 269,900 "good faith pricing" or another well-designed marketing anchor? When BBA's brand aura accelerates to fade in the electric age, can BMW really fill the pit that has been dug by the new forces with this replacement that has been exchanged for a year and a half of the "product vacuum period"? While the situation is still under control, decisive decisions are made to supplement the BMW iX3, which was once a leader in the market segment. According to the terminal sales data, in 2021, only five new energy midsize SUV segments can achieve an annual sales level of more than 20,000 vehicles, and there is a clear gap with the sixth place, BMW iX3 will rank among them. Even before the discontinuation of production in 2024, BMW iX3 sales still reached 28,100 units in the whole year, an increase of 28.9% over 2021. Sales are still rising, why is it finally moving towards discontinuation? The core reason is that the expansion rate of competitors far exceeds it. By 2024, although the annual sales level of the BMW iX3 is rising, there is no halo, because the tenth place sales in that year reached the level of 48,900, and the annual sales of the champion Model Y is as high as 480,300. The sales growth of the BMW iX3, which relies heavily on large terminal offers, is obviously unsustainable. For the BMW iX3, in addition to the competitive pressure brought by competitors in the same class, the price of the higher-level segment is also continuing to squeeze its living space. In 2021, the midsize SUV was also the first segment of the SUV circuit, with a market share of 37.8%. However, with the continuous price adjustment and iteration of medium-sized and large SUVs, their market share has climbed rapidly; in January-July 2026, the share of medium-sized and large SUVs has soared from 12% in 2021 to 26.2%, and the scale has been on par with the continuously shrinking medium-sized SUV market. In the end, the aura of luxury brands is difficult to cover up the inherent shortcomings of "oil to electricity". BMW also officially discontinued the old iX3 in March 2025, pushing for a complete upgrade at the platform level. After a year and a half, the new BMW iX3 landed at the 2026 Chengdu Auto Show and started pre-sale, with a pre-sale price range of 26.99 ‑ 339.9 thousand yuan. This pricing is quite impactful, with a pre-sale price of 339,900 yuan, even lower than the starting price of the old model of 405,000 yuan. However, the current market structure is not the same as it used to be. Relying solely on price advantages may not be enough to break through the perimeter. The new iX3 wants to take back the market, first of all, we must clarify the goal that the next car market has entered the era of stock competition, and if we want to seize market share, we must first recognize the real competitors. Comparison data from car home users shows that the BMW iX3 in 2021 is mostly focused on luxury brands, which also contains a lot of fuel models, the highest proportion is BMW X3. By 2026, the competitive landscape has completely changed. The most frequent comparison with BMW iX3 users is Model Y, the sales leader in this segment. At the same time, the friction between iX3 and new forces is more frequent, and the total number of contrasts has increased from 13.4% in 2021 to 17.9%. It is foreseeable that such friction will be further exacerbated with the official launch of the new car. Positive battles with new powers are inevitable. Terminal sales data shows that in January-July 2026, the top ten sales of the 250,000-350,000 NEV segment were all from the new power camp. Among them, the cumulative sales of the top three Model Y, the ideal i6, and the millet YU7 exceeded 100,000 units. Beyond that, competitive pressures across levels cannot be ignored. Among them, in the new energy track, the degree of downpressure from medium and large SUVs is much greater than that of fuel. In the price range of 250-350,000, 63.1% of sales in the new energy market were contributed by medium-sized and large SUVs; in contrast, in the fuel market, the main force of sales was still medium-sized SUVs, accounting for 48.9%. Therefore, in order to compete for a larger market share and resist the downward squeeze of new competitors and higher-level models, the new BMW iX3 must cross two levels. Want to start a rollover battle, are you strong enough now? The high-profile return is the first shot of the new iX3 against the competition. At the 2026 Chengdu Auto Show, the BMW iX3 officially returned to the market and successfully earned its voice. The car home new car focus index shows that the new iX3 enthusiasm ranks second in the new energy mid-size SUV list, second only to Tang New Energy. In addition, in all the new energy vehicles listed and pre-sold at this auto show, its heat also broke into the top five. The heat has been obtained, and if you want to really capture consumers, you will eventually have to settle down to the hard strength of the product. Since it is brand new, it must be reborn. According to AutoHome's word-of-mouth data, the old iX3 is relatively more obvious in terms of intelligence and space, especially in terms of intelligence, which is far from enough compared to the head competitors in the market segment. However, these issues were addressed on the new iX3. The new BMW iX3 is based on the exclusive Neue Klasse next-generation pure electric platform, which has been completely upgraded. The new car is equipped with an 800V high-voltage platform, equipped with the BMW Panorama iDrive interactive system and the BMW intelligent assisted driving system, and the CLTC has a pure battery life of up to 919km. In addition, the new car has been exclusively lengthened for the Chinese market, increasing the wheelbase to 3005mm. For the new iX3, it is important to improve the level of intelligence, but the significance of improving spatial performance is also critical. Thanks to this, this medium-sized SUV has the capital to compete with higher-level competitors. Judging from the current competitive landscape of the 250,000-35,000 price range, the new iX3 is located in the middle zone, with a moderate price and space. While many of the competitors come from the higher medium to large and large SUV segments, the new iX3 is not weak compared to them, thanks to the longer wheelbase, and even a number of popular medium to large SUVs have smaller wheelbases. If there is no "5 Series" above, the iX3 at this moment can be upgraded to the ranks of medium and large SUVs. The price has been explored, the space has been upgraded, the past shortcomings have also been made up, and the inherent aura of luxury brands has been superimposed. The new iX3 seems to be winning. But will reality really go this smoothly? With the new iX3, can BMW fill the pit dug by a new power? How attractive are the golden signs of first-line luxury brands to consumers? The survey data can be referenced, and consumers still recognize the advantages of overseas luxury brands in vehicle manufacturing technology. According to a survey by AutoHome, 48.8% of prospective car buyers believe that overseas luxury brands are better at making cars, accounting for a significantly higher proportion than other brand camps. However, this advantage has shrunk in the new energy potential user group. Although the proportion of users who prefer overseas luxury brands is still the highest, it is 2.8 percentage points lower than all intended users. On the contrary, the proportion of user selection of Chinese brands has increased overall, among which the proportion of users who prefer mainstream Chinese brands has increased by 3.9 percentage points to 40.3%, and the gap with overseas luxury brands has continued to narrow. With the continuous improvement of the quality of Chinese brand new energy products, users' recognition of their manufacturing processes is also rising rapidly. How long can the word-of-mouth advantages that have been accumulated by luxury brands for many years be maintained? In addition, the long-term large terminal discounts have also hidden concerns for the BMW iX3. In the face of the launch or pre-sale of new cars, 48.5% of new energy intention users will choose to hold the currency and wait for the next larger terminal to make profits. This phenomenon is more pronounced among overseas luxury brand intention users. Although 49.7% is not the highest, it is also significantly higher than the new power brand camp of the direct opponent. Therefore, even if the pre-sale price of the new BMW iX3 is as low as 269,900, a decrease of 33.4% compared with the old model, it is still unknown whether it can reduce the wait-and-see mood of users. Reshaping consumer expectations is no easy task. The all-new BMW iX3 makes a high-profile comeback, and its success or failure as the first model of BMW's Neue Klasse next-generation all-electric platform is significant. In order to successfully occupy the market and achieve post-production "people", the new car has made a lot of efforts, especially the entry pre-sale price of 269.9 thousand is particularly surprising. Many users bluntly said: "At this price, what else to buy Tesla?" "There is no denying that wearing BMW's luxury brand halo, the new BMW iX3 already has innate advantages. Now that the product power has been fully improved, the road ahead seems to be a straightforward one. But one thing can not be ignored: no matter how close the pricing is to the people, the hard power of the product is always the core of the market competition. The best data performance and strong cooperation camps will eventually be tested by user reputation. Only by being worthy of the name can we truly impress consumers, even BMW, without exception. (Monogatari).