A Tesla challenger – or the new king of the hill? BMW has promised a whole series of new electric cars. And has now revealed that their prime Tesla rival will have a 700-kilometer range.

American electric car manufacturer Tesla is unique. No other company has succeeded in selling hundreds of thousands of cars before the finished product is even completed. This was the case when they revealed the Model 3.

The niche manufacturer is doing its best to meet the demand and deliver all those pre-ordered cars – and the competitors do their utmost to catch up.

BMW is one of those competitors who is gathering steam in the electric segment. With previously only two electric cars in their stables, the I3 and I8, the German car manufacturer has now shared a glimpse of what will happen in the near future.

During the Detroit fair, the car brand revealed that their rival to the Tesla Model 3 (and Y) will have a 700 kilometers range. The most capable Tesla will “only” have a 500 km (310 miles) range.

The new car, as shown by different concepts, should also be self-driving level 3 at the introduction. But already in the year after, it will be upgraded to level 4.

The BMW engineers are developing two basic layouts, one for smaller front-drive cars and the other for larger rear-drive vehicles (known internally as ‘FAAR’ and ‘CLEAR’). Eventually, these layouts will provide foundations for every car the BMW Group makes, including Mini and Rolls-Royce.

The 120 kWh battery pack will store 20 percent more energy than a Tesla Model S, according to BMW. And its engineers say this will deliver a driving range up to 700km (435 miles), as mentioned. For smaller cars though, BMW is planning a 90 kWh pack with a range of about 550km (342 miles) and a 60 kWh pack for about 450 km (280 miles).

Future battery-powered BMWs will most probably be the fastest cars the company makes, with possibly three electric motors in top models built on the bigger platform (CLEAR), with 500kW + power to the road, it will result in amazing acceleration.

The statement by the German manufacturer will mean that their model will be among those mass-produced electric cars with the widest range.

But Tesla has yet to worry since the BMW Inext model will not be launched until 2021.