Towards an all-electric future
Soon, BMW will show the next generation 5 series, of course also as a pure electric car. And more electric cars are in the queue in the coming years.
The first generation 5 series debuted in 1972, and over the fifty years, according to BMW, more than ten million cars in the series have been produced. Soon, the eighth generation will be presented – of course with an all-electric alternative with the designation i5.
The new 5 Series will come on the market as a sedan in October, and next year will follow the station wagon, which in BMW parlance is called Touring – it will also be offered as an electric car.
Side by side
The new 5 Series and i5 will be produced side by side at BMW’s largest European plant located in Dingolfing, ten miles north-east of Munich. The 7-series, 8-series and BMW iX are also built here.
BMW Dingolfing is also a competence center for the production of electric powertrains, and production of electric motors and batteries will thus take place at the same facility as car production.
Doubled sales
At the recently held annual conference, the BMW top, Oliver Zipse, said that in 2022 they more than doubled the sale of electric cars and that over 215,000 electric cars were delivered to customers.
He further revealed that another electric car will see the light of day during the current year – a new compact SUV with the designation iX2.
New class
BMW gives hints about the digital future
“Neue Klasse” is the term BMW uses for a completely new series of electric cars with a completely new IT and software architecture, as well as new electric powertrains and batteries.
We have already had a taste of what we have in store through the two concept cars BMW i Vision Circular and BMW i Vision Dee. At this autumn’s IAA Mobility, BMW will make new revelations about what will come from 2025 onwards.
BMW has already said that the first models to be launched in the Neue Klasse will be a sedan in the 3 Series segment and a sporty SUV. Now they say that at least six models will be launched during the first 24 months.
Global production
The production of the new generation of electric cars starts in the new plant in Debrecen, Hungary, which will only produce Neue Klasse models.
From 2026, Neue Klasse models will also be produced at the factory in Munich and from 2027 also at the factory in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
By the end of the decade, Neue Klasse models are expected to account for more than half of BMW’s sales volume.
The whole family
The other brands in the BMW group, Mini and Rolls-Royce, are also heading towards an electric future. For Mini, this means a new 3-door model that takes over from the current Mini Cooper SE, a compact crossover called Aceman and an all-electric Countryman.
11 years later: Rolls switches on the electricity
Rolls-Royce showed its first electric car, the Spectre, last year and will start deliveries to the first customers during 2023.
Steep curve
With a selection of around a dozen all-electric models, the BMW Group expects a steep curve in sales of electric cars in the coming years.
In 2024, at least one in five of the company’s new cars will have an electric powertrain. By 2025, this will be every fourth new car delivered, and by 2026; around one in three.
Depending on market conditions in the second half of the decade, the development of raw material prices and availability, as well as the global development of charging infrastructure, the BMW Group expects the share of electric vehicles to reach more than 50 percent well in advance of 2030.
This means that the company also has a goal of having delivered more than 10 million electric cars to customers around the world by 2030.