BMW iX5 TO SPEARHEAD BOLD NEW-MODEL BLITZ

EV taps into new-era tech and starts the final push to electrify every SUV

- GREG KABLE

The BMW iX5 will arrive in 2026 as the first of six new launches in three years that will fully electrify the German firm's SUV line-up.

This engineering programme is being described as one of the most comprehensive ever undertaken by BMW and its M performance car division.

Notably, a hydrogen-powered iX5 will join the line-up in 2028, using a powertrain co-developed with Toyota. This version will be followed by multiple other fuel cell variants of existing models by the end of the decade.

Alongside the pure-electric iX5 due next year, there will be a new, fifth-generation X5 – BMW's original SUV, with 2.2 million sales since 1999 and counting. The new X5 will be fitted with upgraded petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid drivetrains.

Unlike the upcoming iX3, which will be underpinned by BMW's Neue Klasse platform, both the iX5 and the X5 will be based on an upgraded version of BMW's Cluster Architecture (CLAR) platform, Autocar has been told.

This decision is understood to be a result of the need to continue offering the big-selling X5 with its full cohort of combustion-engine options. Switching to the Neue Klasse architecture would have required the X5's ICE powertrains to be heavily modified to fit into a platform built predominantly for EVs, resulting in excessive extra costs.

The fact that the X5 and iX5 will both be produced at BMW's Spartanburg manufacturing facility in the US, which is currently undergoing a £1.27 billion upgrade, is another reason for the CLAR decision, understands Autocar.

Regardless, BMW will fit the new pair with key features that will be introduced with Neue Klasse. The iX5, for example, is set to adopt sixth-generation electric drive components, new-generation batteries with round cells featuring greater energy density than those in use today, and a fully networked 800V electric architecture.