BMW iX3 Tows And Powers Mobile Photo Studio Across France

The iX3 is taking on a rather unusual job as BMW is putting the first Neue Klasse EV to work as a tow vehicle. It also doubles as a mobile power source for a traveling photography studio that will tour France for more than a year. The initiative officially kicked off yesterday in Paris, and the EV will travel across the country through September 2027, stopping at more than 30 photography festivals and fairs.

Rather than simply following the mobile photo laboratory from one event to another, BMW’s electric SUV will tow the caravan throughout its journey. It’ll also supply electricity to some of the equipment inside thanks to the vehicle-to-load (V2L) function that turns the new iX3 into one giant power bank. It’s a neat demonstration of how truly useful bidirectional charging can be, as multiple electrical devices can be powered simultaneously at up to 3.7 kW.

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The year-long journey across France features the iX3 50 xDrive, which makes sense given its larger 108.7-kWh battery. EVs and towing don’t necessarily bode well for range, so it’s understandable why BMW is using this version instead of the iX3 40 with its 82.6-kWh pack. As impressive as the official WLTP rating is, hitting those 500 miles (805 kilometers) while towing a mobile photo studio won’t be easy, if not impossible. Real-world range will inevitably be affected by the trailer’s additional weight and aerodynamic drag.

BMW Puts The New iX3 To Work

The luxury crossover is being asked to tow a fairly unusual load, travel hundreds of miles between events, and keep photography equipment running along the way. That’s a much more interesting demonstration of V2L than simply plugging in a few household appliances for a promotional video. For BMW, it’s an unconventional but clever way of demonstrating what the new iX3 can do beyond simply carrying passengers.

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The electric crossover plays an active role in the studio’s energy autonomy, forging a direct connection between its battery and the photographic process. Beyond V2L, the electric crossover also supports vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G). With V2H, the iX3 can act as a temporary energy storage system for a home. It does so by storing surplus electricity generated by rooftop solar panels and making that energy available later when needed.

V2G takes the concept a step further. It allows electricity stored in the vehicle’s battery to be fed back into the public power grid. This lets the car become part of the wider energy system, with owners potentially earning money for making their stored energy available when the grid needs it.

Getting back to the tour at hand, it kicked off at the Ministry of Culture in Paris and will make these stops until the trip ends in a little over a year:

2026

• September 5–6: GLAZ Festival (Rennes)
• September 12–13: Rencontres Image et Environnement at Zone i (Thoré-la-Rochette)
• September 26–27: QPN – Quinzaine Photographique Nantaise (Nantes)
• October 3–4: EOP – Espaces d’Œuvres Photographiques (Rouen)
• October 10–11: Nicéphore+ (Clermont-Ferrand)
• October 16–17: Les Villes Invisibles (Nîmes)
• October 24–25: Planches Contact Festival (Deauville)
• November 7–8: Le Mois de la Photo / Lumière d’Encre (Céret)
• November 11–15: a ppr oc he – Les Nuits Photo – Paris Photo – Photo Days – Photo Saint-Germain (Paris)

2027

• March 12–13: Printemps Photographique de Pomerol (Pomerol)
• March 27–28: Les Photographiques (Le Mans)
• April 3–4: Itinéraires des Photographes Voyageurs (Bordeaux)
• May 8–9: LUM Festival (Seix)
• May 15–16: BPM – Biennale Photo de Mulhouse (Mulhouse)
• May 22–23: L’Événement Photographique (Nancy)
• May 29–30: Présence(s) Photographie (Montélimar)
• June 5–6: Festival Photo La Gacilly (La Gacilly)
• June 12–13: Moulin Blanchard – Hors les Murs (Perche-en-Nocé)
• June 19–20: Les femmes s’exposent (Houlgate)
• June 26–27: Mondes en commun – Musée départemental Albert Kahn (Boulogne-Billancourt)
• July 3–4: Mesnographies (Les Mesnuls)
• July 10–11: OFF Arles – La Kabine (Arles)
• July 24–25: L’été photographique de Lectoure (Lectoure)
• September 18–19: Photoclimat (Paris)