With global orders for the new iX3 near 100,000, BMW dealers in China are reportedly overwhelmed by demand, with tens of thousands of pre-orders coming in in less than a week after it went on sale.

After launching the new iX3, the first from its Neue Klasse (“New Class”) lineup last September, BMW’s former CEO Oliver Zipse revealed the electric SUV secured 50,000 orders in its first six months on the market.

BMW said on Thursday that orders were now nearing 100,000. To meet the stronger-than-expected demand, the company added a second shift at its plant in Debrecen, Hungary, earlier this year.

While the promising start has caught even BMW off guard, the new iX3 is reportedly now drawing big interest in China, where the luxury automaker, like most foreign OEMs, is quickly losing market share to domestic EV makers like BYD and Xiaomi.

BMW launched the new iX3 in China at the Chengdu Auto Show on August 21 in three variations, with prices ranging from 269,900 yuan to 339,900 yuan ($40,200 to $50,500).

Several BMW dealers told 36Kr that “Once the pre-sale price was announced, the sales team has barely stopped working, working until 10 pm every day,” adding that “there are just too many interested users.”

In just under a week, each BMW store in the core area has received nearly 80 “small orders,” the dealers claimed. Since it went on sale, the new BMW iX3 has reportedly secured “tens of thousands” of small blind pre-orders.

The “overwhelming demand” comes despite having essentially zero actual vehicles to show.

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