BMW has confirmed that their much-awaited i5 Touring electric car will be hitting the market in spring 2024. This will make it the first all-electric estate car available in the market. But before the Touring, BMW will be launching the saloon BMW 5 Series and i5 variants in October this year in Europe, Korea, and the US.
Like the saloon, the estate will have pure-electric powertrain, petrol, diesel, and plug-in hybrid variants available. The saloon will even get an M Performance variant similar to the BMW i4 M50, opening the door for a hotter Touring version. The all-electric BMW i4 M50 was the best-selling BMW M model worldwide in 2022 and showcased how BMW blends dynamic performance and electric mobility to perfection.
In the BMW Group Annual Conference 2023, Oliver Zipse (Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG) stated:
“In 2023, we will take the next big step to fulfil the drivers technological needs of our customers around the globe. Later this year, we will be releasing the latest version of the world’s most successful business sedan on the market: the new BMW 5 Series – including of course the fully-electric i5. This will also be followed in 2024 by two plug-in hybrid variants. The official launch is still a few months away. But, behind me you can at least see the camouflaged i5. Production will get underway in the summer. From October onwards, the i5 will initially be released in Korea, Europe and the US.”
BMW has confirmed that more details will be released soon but expects the new Touring to have the usual levels of practicality we’ve come to expect from such a competitive market. It is still unclear whether the 5 Series Touring will share its underpinnings with other models, but we can expect the standard i5 Touring to be offered in rear- and four-wheel-drive with outputs ranging from 335bhp to 536bhp. This essentially creates an all-electric BMW M5 Touring. The i4 uses an 80.7kWh battery pack and can charge at up to 210kW. This allows for a maximum official range of between 255 and 367 miles.
Outside, the updated i5 Touring will have a sleeker headlight design and covered kidney grilles that don’t extend beyond the front number plate. The rear headlights will retain BMW’s signature ‘L’ shape, and the door handles will be flush with the bodywork, as on the new BMW 2 Series. The i5 edition will have blanked-off kidney grilles, leaving out BMW’s controversial ‘vertical’ kidney grilles for its huge-hitting family saloon.
The i5 Touring and saloon will join BMW’s ever-expanding EV range, including the new BMW i7 flagship EV, BMW iX and BMW iX1 SUVs, and the BMW i4 saloon. The combustion-engined cars that are central to the firm’s range will also gain fully electric versions similar to the BMW X3-based BMW iX3 and 4 Series-based i4.
So there you have it! BMW’s all-electric i5 Touring is set to make a statement in the market as the first all-electric estate car. With the range of practicality, powertrain options, and sleek design, it is sure to be a popular choice among electric car enthusiasts.
Images: Digital, dynamic and now also fully electric: the BMW 5 Series enters a new era. (bmwgroup.com)
Statement and Presentation Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, BMW Group Annual Conference 2023
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