The seventh-generation BMW 5 Series will bow out after seven years in mid-2023 and its successor will be radically transformed, both technologically and stylistically, as part of BMW’s transition to a maker of electric cars.
Most notably, the 5 Series will follow its X3 and 4 Series siblings in being offered with a choice of pure-combustion, hybrid and full-electric powertrains in line with BMW’s ambition to sell seven million plug-in hybrid and pure-electric vehicles by the end of 2030. By the time the new 5 Series goes on sale in 2023, the BMW Group will offer 12 fully electric vehicles globally, including EV versions of the X1 crossover and 7 Series (see bottom of story), and an all-electric version of the 3 Series is being readied as a sibling model to the i4.
The next 5 Series – which brings a sharper front-end design and a more rakish roofline than the current car – will sit atop an evolved version of the modular Cluster Architecture (CLAR) used by all current BMW models apart from the i3, 1 Series, 2 Series Gran Coupé and 2 Series Active Tourer. Compatible with pure-combustion, mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric powertrains, as well as both rear- and all-wheel drive layouts, the CLAR platform underpins BMW’s strategy of portfolio diversification in the run-up to going all-electric.
The 5 Series will be one of the last all-new BMW models launched before the company begins the ‘third phase’ of its electric transition in 2025. This new era, termed ‘Neue Klasse’ in reference to the mould-breaking saloon cars that catapulted BMW into the mainstream in the 1960s and 1970s, will usher in new-generation EV powertrains, heighten BMW’s focus on supply chain sustainability and introduce an all-new software platform with the aim of providing “a completely novel user experience”.
Codenamed G60, the new 5 Series could be updated during its life cycle to keep pace with Munich’s new-era line-up. However, when the car is launched in 2023, BMW’s ‘Power of Choice’ strategy will still be in operation (a follow-up to the initial ‘Project i’ programme under which the i8 and i3 were launched), whereby each model in the lineup is offered with combustion, hybrid and electric powertrains.
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BMW have become utterly hopeless. I own a 740 Le hybrid. The marketing brochure says it does 40-45 km in electric mode. Fully charged it registers only 15 miles and on a drive it achieves about 10 miles! £108k for a car that you can walk that distance for nothing and save the planet. THEY are so hopeless that BMW U.K. can't answer a straight forward question about the OLEV grant for charging electric vehicles. BMW Germany HO have got involved but they have proved no more successful in getting their subsidiary to answer than I have. Meanwhile the dealership whilst trying to investigate why the battery is performing so badly have after weeks come to the astonishing conclusion that there is nothing wrong with it. And the cost of replacing the Lithium battery should you need to is a mere £7500.
After 40 years of buying BMWs I have had enough. I have seen them slide downhill for 10 years or more. Trust me they are a car crash waiting to happen.
The horse power race is far beyond ridiculous now.