BMW secretly developing i8-based sedan

BMW has announced that it has plans to add a new i model to sit above the i3 and below the i8 supercar.

The new sedan, thought to be called the i5, will mirror its smaller sibling -- the i3 -- by being available as both a pure-electric version and a model that comes with the option of a small petrol-powered range-extender.

Confirming the new model to US mag Car and Driver, BMW’s i head of product Henrik Wenders said: “We are thinking of a new i model above it [i3] to attract families, and that means it must be capable of being the first car in the household. We are still working very hard on the usage concept, but this needs to be defined by the market and not by us.”

Wenders told the US mag that currently the small i3 is used as a second or third car and that 60 per cent of those vehicles were ordered with the range-extender despite only five percent of those who paid extra to have a small engine fitted to their small city-car using the tech.

Speaking to Car and Driver, Wenders said BMW would not be drawn into a range war with other car-makers over how far their new pure-electric vehicle will travel.

Wenders: “We are not going to join the race about maximum range figures. Currently if you compare those figures and see what kind of energy investment is behind it, you often see the total carbon footprint of those models is higher than for a car with an internal-combustion engine. That doesn’t make any kind of sense.”

Like the i3 and i8, the i product boss also confirmed the future i5 will benefit from BMW’s ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre monocoque construction.

Wenders also used the interview to tease a future convertible version based on an i model (thought to be the i8).

“The advantage of the carbon structure is that it’s so rigid you could take away the roof without destabilising the car.”

It’s not known how long we’ll have to wait for the new i5 sedan but it could be on sale as soon as 2018.