The BMW iX3 Is Made Of 1/3 Recycled Materials. Here's How BMW Did It

Name: The BMW iX3 Is Made Of 1/3 Recycled Materials. Here's How BMW Did It
Uploaded: 2025-10-22T14:03:37Z
Duration: 37 min 37 s
Description: BMW is betting that using more recycled parts will help with its sustainability goals. It's good for business too.

BMW is betting that using more recycled parts will help with its sustainability goals. It's good for business too.

37:37

Tim Levin

By: Tim Levin

Oct 22, 2025 at 10:03am ET

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The BMW iX3 is the tip of the spear for the automaker's electrification push. With 400 miles of range, 400 kilowatt charging and an overhauled electronics architecture, it's the most sophisticated BMW EV ever.

It's also among the most sustainable and innovative products company has ever made, and a showcase of something BMW calls the "circular economy." As a couple of BMW sustainability executives explained on a bonus episode of the Plugged-In Podcast recorded live at Climate Week NYC, the iX3 was designed from the ground up not only to use reclaimed materials—but also to be recycled itself.

All in all, one-third of the iX3's raw materials had a first life somewhere else. And, BMW says, that's just the beginning.

"So if a BMW iX3 has a secondary raw material quota of one-third, that's a trailblazer, right? But at the same time, there's an expectation that the rest of the organization, the rest of the vehicles in our portfolio, will will quickly close the gap as well," Glenn Schmidt, the automaker's vice president of global sustainability, said.

The iX3's front bumper has plastic bits that come from PET bottles. Importantly—and this is a big one—its next-generation batteries use far more reclaimed metals like nickel, cobalt and lithium than previous cells, while also offering improved energy density and charging speeds. BMW is working to build up supply chains for recycled battery components, and we get deep into that in the episode.

The result is a car that has a significantly reduced carbon footprint. BMW says the iX3 becomes cleaner than a comparable gas vehicle after just one year of driving, even when you account for all the emissions created during manufacturing.

The BMW iX3 on display at Climate Week NYC.

Photo by: Patrick George

But "circularity," Schmidt and colleague Nils Hesse explain on the show, is also good for business. Because recycled materials are just another way of diversifying supply chains, hedging geopolitical risk and reducing reliance on China, for example.

Check out the show wherever you get your podcasts. The InsideEVs Plugged-In Podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube (in video form) and other platforms.

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Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com