New 2024 BMW i5 shown winter testing

BMW has released images of late-stage prototypes of the all-new 2024 BMW i5 enduring sub-zero temperatures as part of final durability testing in Northern Europe.

The eighth-generation BMW 5 Series will debut in October, with the battery-electric i5 to be sold alongside mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the luxury sedan and wagon.

A fast full-electric M Performance version is also being developed.

First deliveries will begin in Europe in the second quarter of next year, with an Australian launch expected in the second half.

As per the i7 and 7 Series, the electric version of the new 5 Series will be similarly styled, sharing the core sedan’s traditional three-box silhouette and bluff styling, albeit with a fresh daytime running light signature.

Competing with the likes of the Tesla Model S and Mercedes-Benz EQE, the BMW i5 will run the fifth-generation eDrive powertrain that’s already available in the i4, iX, iX3 and i7, however specifications are still to be confirmed.

It’s thought the i5 M version will come with a development of the iX M60’s dual-motor powertrain that produces 480kW and a whopping 1000Nm of torque.

In the 2.6-tonne SUV, that’s good enough for a rapid 0-100km/h sprint of just 3.8 seconds, so in the 5 Series it should be considerably quicker.

What the BMW i5 won’t get is the German car-maker’s incoming dedicated EV platform that will launch a year later under its Neue Klasse family of vehicles.

Instead, the i5 will sit on a heavily revised version of the CLAR architecture from the current 5 Series. Sharing costs, expect plenty of carryover parts from the current i4.

Interior-wise, the 5 Series will feature the car-maker’s curved display that runs a Linux-based BMW Operating System 8.5.

However, shortly after launch this will be swapped out for its next-generation Android-powered operating system 9.0.

The new 5 Series will be produced alongside the 7 Series, 8 Series and iX SUV at the Dingolfing plant in Germany, where the company has built 10 million examples of the 5 Series since the first of eight generations was introduced back in 1972.

Stay tuned as more teasers of both the next-gen i5 and the combustion-powered 5 Series are released in the lead-up to the October premiere.

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