Electric BMW i5 Caught Again, Revealing More Of Its Design

We recently caught the electric version of the next-generation 5-Series, that would likely be marketed as the i5, parked at a BMW lot and now we have even clearer shots of the car moving onto a car carrier.

BMW confirmed about a year ago that it would be making an all-electric version of the 5 Series to join its growing range of electric vehicles, like the i4 and the iX. Although there will be a traditional gas-powered next-gen 5 Series, we would anticipate that the electric version will be called the i5.

The spy photos give a us pretty good idea of the overall design proportions of the new car, which look sleek and altogether more reserved than, say, the 4 Series. To my eye, the front-end has a bit of E39-ness to it, though my colleague Thanos Pappas wrote that it has a bit more of the E60 about it especially the headlamp section, so it seems that there’s enough going on here to leave room for interpretation.

The back-end certainly has more in common with recent 5 Series, while the wide hips give the car a purposeful stance. The lighting elements still seem to be too camouflaged to see clearly, so we’ll have to wait before we can experience the full effect of the new design.

With stern competition coming in the form of the EQE and the A6 e-tron, the i5 will have to bring comfort as well as performance.

We would expect the i5 to have access to 70 kWh and 100 kWh battery packs and offer up to 400 km of range, which should help it take on its German rivals, as well as the Tesla Model S. Whether the M version will be able to take on the Model S Plaid remains to be seen, though.

The current 5 Series was unveiled in 2016 and got a visual update just last year, so we won’t be holding our breaths waiting for it to come before 2023 or 2024.