The following-generation BMW 5 Sequence is getting into market availability globally, together with the brand new i5 EV. The US will see the i5 Sedan arrive on the market in only a matter of weeks, earlier than October’s finish. It’s unclear if the eDrive 40 and M60 xDrive will each be obtainable at launch, however BMW’s launch would appear to suggest “sure.”
The primary i5s rolled off the meeting line in Dingolfing, Germany, again in July, with the automotive curiously making its world market debut in Korea. Now, world availability is imminent, with Germany (October 21) and the US (October 28) being the following in line. Different markets will probably be ready a month or so longer, with the bigger worldwide launch beginning on November 25. Fashions embody the i5 eDrive 40 and the efficiency i5 M60 xDrive, which makes over 600 hp and reportedly can shuffle to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds.
Whereas Electrek has but to have a go within the all-new i5 (hello, BMW!), early drives of the automotive have been fairly constructive total. The brand new BMW OS 8.5 allegedly brings some usability and practicality enhancements (e.g., simpler entry to local weather controls with fewer faucets), and extra modifications to the working system will probably be coming over the air to house owners down the road.
The brand new 5 Sequence Touring (wagon, property — select your regional vocab) will launch in spring 2024 in ICE and electrified trims, although it appears like there will probably be no US launch. BMW says the 5 Sequence Touring will probably be obtainable in Europe, Taiwan, and Japan.
BMW has chosen a philosophy of platform marriage for its present crop of “next-generation” autos, which means the ICE and BEV 5 Sequence largely appear and feel fairly related — however they use completely totally different drivetrains. Some prospects get pleasure from realizing that their electrified automobile encompasses a distinct design language and bespoke platform. Nonetheless, there are doubtless many who would really like a “regular automotive” that simply so occurs to be electrified. Now, this all will get slightly philosophical form of shortly whenever you ask which model of the automotive is primarily driving platform and know-how choices, and if the designer would have made an EV from the bottom up that appears mainly just like the “shared” automotive anyway. However for BMW’s electrical portfolio, I feel the visible response boils all the way down to “kidney grilles, why?” (As a result of that’s My Model, presumably.)
Pricing for the eDrive 40 will begin at a hair below $68,000 within the US with supply, and the efficiency M60 xDrive will probably be nearer to $85,000. That, in fact, doesn’t embody any choices. A completely loaded M60 xDrive (huge wheels, leather-based inside, wooden trim, govt bundle) tops out at $97,395 delivered. Each automobiles look well-equipped in commonplace trim, nevertheless, so loading them up is certainly not vital.
Full press launch right here.
Electrek’s Take
Just like the Mercedes EQE, Mannequin S, and Lucid Air, the BMW i5 slots into the brand new(-ish) “huge mid-size sedan” market — it’s really inside an inch of the Tesla for complete size, although about an inch-and-a-half longer by wheelbase. With a beginning worth of round $68,000, it does barely undercut Tesla, however for a automotive that’s a lot slower and decrease on vary.
However the inhabitants of patrons cross-shopping an i5 and Mannequin S might be fairly small — BMW is a model that instructions loyalty, with its driver-focused status and really seen “sure, I’m driving a BMW” visible branding. (See: Kidney grilles on an electrical automotive.)
It will likely be attention-grabbing to see how gross sales go for BMW in an more and more crossover-crazy luxurious automobile house – there’s little question the 5 Sequence is a part of the shrinking pie that’s the sedan market (particularly in America). However it’s additionally a legendary nameplate, and one which patrons typically repeatedly return to over the course of a number of generations. It’s exhausting to say that a couple of Mercedes E-Class.
