Battery-pure i5 will release purely in a top spec, for just under $200k. So is this the end of everyday fossil-fuelled Fives?

POTENTIAL a past BMW sales staple, the 5-Series sedan, has weaned off decades of fossil fuel reliance in its mainstream form in bid to emulate a sibling’s sales BMWperformance seems likely.

In a half year update on its activity today, BMW New Zealand announced intent of a late November media event that is strictly for the car in a single pure electric form, the $196,900 twin motor M60 with a walloping 455kW and up to 820Nm torque.

It also showed the graphic below displaying all the new product set to land in 2023 - with no mention of the Five coming in traditional petrol formats that are still possible to take.

The wholly battery reliant drivetrain is a first-time feature for a model line that traces back to 1972, and BMW Germany has indicated the future for Five - indeed, all its passenger fare - is fully electric.

Notwithstanding, when the latest car revealed internationally in June, Munich also enforced it will continues with petrol and diesel variants, alongside the i5 in two variants, both using the same 81.2kWh battery pack. 

That policy does not seem to be the case here, but perhaps for good reason. 

Local boss Adam Shaver testified that electric product behind the BMW and Mini badges are driving a significant sales surge this year.

A total of 908 BMWs and 458 Minis were registered this year to the end of June; of these, a quarter were electric. 

With Mini, the biggest seller is the battery-fed type. BMW’s pace, meantime, is being driven strongly by the new Four Series; of all the versions, the all-electric i4 - effectively the i5’s little brother - is proving particularly popular. 

With that kind of consumer reaction, it could be that the only Five Series with reliance on replenishment at the pumps rather than by a plug offered to Kiwis will be the one developed by its Motorsport department.

The next M5 is expected to be formally shown to the world in July 2024 and, though BMW has been cagey about giving out too much detail, bets are on it receiving a version of the plug-in hybrid system in the new XM crossover, pictured below, that has just arrived here.

This drivetrain for the second-ever car from BMW to be exclusively offered as an M model (after the 1979-1981 M1) marries a twin-turbo 4.4-litre petrol V8 with an auxiliary electric motor. 

Total output in the standard XM, announced today as a $299,300 buy-in, is 480kW and 800Nm, good enough to see it take care of 0-100kmh in 4.3 seconds. 

The outputs break down to 360kW and 650Nm from the engine alone and 145kW/280Nm from the electric motor, which is fed by a 25.7kWh battery pack. 

Top speed is 250kmh but it’s able to hit 140kmh on battery power alone, with electric range of up to 88km claimed. But the latter’s seen as Green sop - the M5’s batteries will focus on rapid discharges for performance rather than maximum range.

In the last part of this year, BMW will add a second, more stonking XM, the Label Red, with the same powertrain but fizzed up to deliver 550kW and 1000Nm. Which makes it the most powerful road-going BMW in history.

Back to the i5. BMW here has yet to make clear why it has swerved away from an entry i5, the rear-drive eDrive40, which uses a 253kW/430Nm electric motor, has an official range of 582km on a single charge and consumes electricity  at a rate of 15.9kWh/100km. 

However, the i5 M60 xDrive has potential to make a powerful statement against rivals that include Audi e-tron and a future electric A6 and Mercedes Benz EQE sedan. BMW also cited the Tesla Model S as a foe, but that won’t matter here as it has been pulled from market.

The edition’s full blast of torque is availed from activating an M Boost mode, comes to 820Nm, enough to take this 2.3-tonne edition from a standing start to 100kmh in only 3.8 seconds.

In today’s summary, BMW NZ boss Shaver made special mention of how sales of his brand’s electric products behind the BMW and Mini badges have accelerated.

Three hundred and 12 registrations between January and end of June means it is easily on track to exceed last year’s total count of 366 BEVs. Those counts, in turn, completely trump the 2021 count, of just 61 vehicles.

That performance means one in every four BMW-made cars sold this year have been battery-compelled; the same rate of interest that Kiwis have in M-badged product. NZ M sales are globally the second-highest per capita.

Shaver said BMW has been having a good year globally, but his pride in the NZ performance was high because the first six months of this year have not been without challenges “whether they’ve been natural weather events or general market conditions.

“We are very pleased to see both BMW and Mini in a growth position for the first half of the year; BMW up close to three percent and Mini up seven percent versus the previous year.”

The i4 (above) has gained publicity through being chosen for trial with NZ Police, as a front line car. Shaver says his operation is keen to see how the four cars fare, but he’s confident they will do well.

The i4 variant that the Police version bases on, badged eDrive35, is now being offered as a civilian choice, for $98,900.

Should BMW NZ decide it still needs fossil fuel Fives, it could pick from three four-cylinder editions, two diesels and a petrol 520i, which gets a 48-volt mild-hybrid system and total output of 155kW/310Nm, plus fuel consumption as low as 5.7L/100km, with overall CO2 emission at130 grams per kilometre. 

Next year two plug-in hybrid variants - 220kW 530e and 360kW 550e - are coming into production. These have a new gearbox-mounted electric motor developing up to 145kW and 280Nm, and a 19.4kWh lithium-ion battery providing claimed electric driving range of between 87km to 101km for the 530e, and 79km to 90km for the 550e xDrive.

In terms of how it looks, the new Five marks a distinct departure from the outgoing 'G30' model, with sharper angles, an almost fastback rear and angular headlights. The kidney grilles optionally get surround lighting.

With an increase in length of 97mm, this 5 Series is the first to be longer than five metres. It’s 32mm wider and 36mm taller than before, too. Rear legroom improves. The boot measures 520 litres for the combustion models and 490 litres for the i5.

The interior delivers a big, curved display containing both the driver's 12.3-inch instrument panel and a 14.9-inch infotainment screen, with access by touch, voice, by steering wheel buttons or with the traditional iDrive rotary controller on the centre console. The version 8.5 software has a 'QuickSelect' function allowing a user to access major menu items with fewer clicks.

New tech includes an electronic driver assistance system update. The new 'Highway Assistant' setup, allows - in countries where it's legal to do so - hands off driving for extended periods. It monitors to ensure a driver is paying attention to the roadscape.

There’s also a new lane-change assistant, which will suggest lane-swapping manoeuvres. A driver can enact this merely by looking at the appropriate door mirror and allowing the eye-tracking software to confirm the manoeuvre. 

Your phone can also be used as a remote control, to park the car, and the i5 has video streaming to the big central screen, and video games too, playable when the car is recharging.

As standard, the i5 comes with 11kW AC charging, but that can be optionally upgraded to 22kW. It can optimally accept up to 205kW of DC power, allowing for a 10-80 percent charge in 30 minutes. 

Unlike the EQE, i5 lacks the option of air suspension though it does get self-levelling air suspension at the back as standard. Adaptive dampers are standard fit for the M60 version, which also gets an active anti-roll system.

Don’t like sedans? Next year  BMW will add a 5 Series Touring wagon, also in electric.

Though i5 is the year’s big launch, BMW is set to soon roll out an updated X5 and X6, plus begin supply of the Seven Series in 750 xDrive PHEV form. The new M3 CS is also availing, in a small count.