BMW X2 plug-in hybrid revealed

As part of BMW's pledge to electrify 25 models by 2023, the company has unveiled the sporty BMW X2 xDrive25e plug-in hybrid (PHEV) SUV.

And apart from a great big cable trailing out, you'll have to look closely to spot the differences with the regular BMW X2 models.

Fitted with a small 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine backed up by a 10kWh lithium-ion battery and electric motor combo, it can drive for around 55km as a pure EV before the petrol engine chimes in.

While the BMW X3 PHEV (215kW/420Nm) will arrive in Australia from around May 2020, there are no plans for the BMW X2 PHEV to roll into Aussie showrooms at this stage.

"We don’t have plans to introduce it [X2 PHEVs] here," stated BMW Australia's product comms manager, Nick Raman.

"It's an interesting product, but we need to make sure it suits our customers' needs. The X3 [PHEV] is the focal point right now. We'll see what happens after that," he said, without ruling out the X2 PHEV's future introduction.

"We're always reviewing the market," he added.

Raman noted that the X2 PHEV's twin sibling, the BMW X1 xDrive25e PHEV, is not on the product plan for Australia at this stage.

However, BMW Australia will be watching the uptake of the BMW X3 hybrid very closely and if demand for the electrified X3 spikes it could change the brand's position on the smaller SUV hybrids.

Packing the same eco-friendly artillery as the BMW X1 PHEV, the small five-door BMW X2 hybrid bangs out a healthy amount of power and torque (162kW/385Nm), enabling a 0-100km/h sprint of 6.8 seconds.

Looking at the power modules separately, the petrol engine (92kW/220Nm) drives the front wheels through a six-speed auto and the electric motor (70kW/165Nm) that drives the rear wheels generate modest amounts of power.

When running in pure EV mode, the X2 PHEV can reach speeds of 135km/h. In hybrid combo mode it'll almost reach 200km/h.

Charged using conventional household power sockets, the BMW X2 plug-in hybrid takes five hours to fully charge, says BMW, or just under four hours for an 80 per cent fill up. Using a BMW i Wallbox that time drops to around two-and-a-half hours.

BMW is confident of selling more than one million electrified vehicles by the end of 2021, as it ramps up its offerings.

The demand for raw materials (mainly metals) ramps up dramatically over the next decade, BMW has pledged to source battery resources from the mining sector in an ethical manner.

By 2050 the brand is expected to sell only electrified vehicles as global demand increases and emissions regulations force car-makers to build more eco-friendly products. As a result the brand will most likely kill its high-performance V8 and V12 engines.