New 2023 BMW i5: first official look at electric 5 Series

BMW has already confirmed it’s developing a new all-electric saloon car to sit alongside the next-generation 5 Series, which will be called the i5. But now, we have our first official images of the i5 testing in a cold weather environment ahead of its October unveiling.

Although these test cars still wear plenty of camouflage, we can ascertain a few key design details already. These new pictures show the i5’s design won’t differentiate too much from the upcoming eighth-generation of the combustion-engined 5 Series, similar to the 7 Series and i7. The kidney grilles will be a little more restrained than those found in the i4 and there’s just a single headlight cluster, rather than a dual cluster setup like on the new 7 Series and iX.

Details such as recessed door handles will help improve the aerodynamic drag coefficient along with a new design of seven-spoke alloy wheel. On the rear pillar we see a plate covering the area where BMW’s classic ‘Hofmeister kink’ design trait would be expected. Like the i4, the charging flap will be situated on the driver’s side rear three quarter panel. 

BMW has also confirmed it will offer an i5 Touring all-electric estate car alongside the i5 executive EV saloon. The EV estate segment is a little sparse currently with just the MG5 EV and Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo to speak of but more rivals will come in the shape of the Audi e-tron A6 Avant and Volkswagen ID Space Vizzion. The saloon meanwhile, will take on the Mercedes EQE and Tesla Model S. 

The i5 will be joined by a hotter performance EV too, according to BMW’s CEO. Speaking at the brand’s annual conference, Oliver Zipse said: “A fully electric performance version from BMW M will also be included in the new BMW 5 Series line-up” before mentioning that BMW’s i4 M50 was the best-selling BMW M model worldwide in 2022. This new M Performance model could potentially be badged i5 M60, sharing its powertrain with the iX M60 SUV. 

The i5 will share the same modular CLAR underpinnings as the current combustion-engined 5 Series. We expect that the range of all-electric powertrains for the i5 will be similar to those offered in the i4 - which also uses the CLAR platform. The upcoming 5 Series, codenamed G60, will be one of BMW's final new models before the launch of its Neue Klasse-generation vehicles start to roll out from 2025, likely led by all-electric replacements for the 3 Series and the X5 SUV.

We should see an entry-level i5 eDrive40 with a 80.7kWh battery and single rear-mounted motor producing around 335bhp and 430Nm of torque. An M50 model is likely too, with roughly 469bhp and 730Nm of torque. In the i4 there’s a boost mode on the more powerful option that takes it up to 537bhp and 795Nm of torque for ten seconds and this may well carry over. 

As we’ve mentioned, an i5 M60 could crown the all-electric range, possibly using a 105kWh battery with two electric motors, producing 611bhp and 1,100Nm of torque. In the iX M60, this allows for a 0-62mph time of 3.8-seconds. The i5 will have much less weight to deal with so we expect a time closer to three seconds for the sprint. 

As for range, the i4 has a claimed maximum 365-mile range and we could see something similar for the i5 despite its larger size, depending on what improvements to battery efficiency BMW has made since the i4’s introduction. 

BMW’s iX is capable of 195kW rapid charging so the i5 should at least offer this speed of charging. This could mean 10-80 per cent of its battery will be recharged in 39 minutes. Like BMW’s other electric cars, an 11kWh onboard charger should also feature on the i5. 

The BMW Group has already confirmed that it’ll launch 25 new electrified models across its range of brands – and roughly half of those cars will ditch combustion power. We’ve already seen the iX1 join the X1 this year and the new electric i7 join the flagship 7 Series saloon.

Now read our review of the all-electric BMW i7...