BATTERY-powered versions of the BMW X3 and Mini will go on sale by 2020 after the German brand confirmed its commitment to more electrified models.

BMW’s announcement comes weeks after the Reuters news agency reported the company’s senior executives had skipped the 2016 Paris motor show to urgently discuss its future electric-vehicle strategy.

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The company has already confirmed a Roadster version of its i8 petrol-electric supercar, due in 2018, as well as an “iNext” project expected to be the long-rumoured i5 mid-size passenger car.

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BMW this year released a more advanced version of its i3 city car, which made its debut in 2013 in both electric-only and range-extended guises – the latter version featuring a two-cylinder petrol engine. The BMW i3 won Wheels Car of the Year in 2014.

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More than 18,000 i and iPerformance models were sold in the third quarter of this year, according to BMW – totalling more than 40,000 to September 2016.