BMW expects half of 5-Series Europe sales to be full electric

MILAN -- BMW expects European sales of the recently launched 5 Series to be "evenly split" between the combustion versions of the sedan and the full-electric variant, the i5," a spokesman said.

The 50-50 split in Europe will take place over the model's life cycle, while the i5 is expected to account for 30 percent of the model family's worldwide sales during the same period, the spokesman said at the model's test drive event here. He said the lower number was because of slower uptake of full-electric models in several of BMW's global markets.

BMW launched the eight-generation 5 Series and the first-generation i5 last month in Europe and the USA. Deliveries in Germany are already underway while other global markets will follow starting on November 25. All variants of the model family are built at BMW's Dingolfing, Germany, plant, which produced the 5 Series since 1972.

On sale in Europe so far are two 48-volt mild-hybrid variants, both gasoline- and diesel-powered; two gasoline plug-in hybrids and two full-electric variants.

The station wagon version of the 5 Series  will go on sale in Europe "in spring 2024" with the same drivetrains as the sedan.

The sedan's base price in Germany is €57,550 ($61,000) for the 520i 2.0-liter, four-cylinder gasoline variant. The diesel-powered 520d starts at €59,750. The plug-in hybrid 530e costs €65,300. Meanwhile, the full-electric i5 eDrive 40 starts at €70,200.

The model family's most expensive version is the full-electric, four-wheel drive i5 M60 xDrive variant, which starts at €99,500. It is also the most powerful variant as its two electric motors provide a combined output of 593 hp and a 0 to 100 kph (0 to 62 mph) sprint time of 3.8 seconds.

All variants of the i5 have an 81.2-kilowatt-hour battery pack, which offers driving ranges of 477 to 582 km (296 to 361 miles) under WLTP guidelines.

For the U.S. BMW will offer the 5 Series as a six-cylinder gasoline variant, which will not be sold in Europe.

The new 5 Series and i5 share a body that is 97 mm (3.8 inches) longer, 36 mm taller and 32 mm wider than the previous model. The car's dimensions are 5060 mm long, 1900 wide and 1515 mm tall. From the side the sedan appears more like a coupe, while the front features a horizontal BMW kidney grille, unlike the vertical grilles of the recent i7 and i4 models.

The car's drag coefficient is 0.23, up slightly from the 0.22 of the previous model but still among the best in its class.

The Series 5 and i5 feature a number of innovations carried over from the previous-generation model both on the user interface side – such as a new software operating system and gaming apps – and in the traditional mechanic side, such as several option when it comes to active steering and adaptive suspensions.

A key new addition to the model family is an "active lane change" function, which signals to the drive when a highway lane change is possible and lets the driver start the maneuver by simply glancing at the left or right side mirror. The function is only homologated in the U.S. and German markets because of legal limitations elsewhere.

The 5 Series model family also will offer BMW Proactive Care, which detects the car's servicing requirements using artificial intelligence, among other things, and offers solutions to the customer without them having to take action themselves.

A short test drive of the M60 variant of the i5, which took place in the hills in the Piedmont region in northwestern Italy, confirmed the EV provides comfort and driving qualities expected from a BMW.

Speed limits and heavy traffic prevented us from getting anywhere close to the car's 230 kph (144 mph) top speed or to test its 0 to 100 kph acceleration time of 3.8 seconds. However, highway acceleration at speed above 100 kph was as swift as one would expect from a car with two electric motors that produce a combined 795-newton meters of torque.