2024 BMW M5 And M550i xDrive Successors To Get Plug-in Hybrid Powertrains, Says Report

As BMW is getting ready to launch the all-new eight-generation 5 Series sometime in mid-2023, together with the fully electric i5, new reports reveal more information on the range and the future performance variants. According to Autocar, the new M5 will feature a plug-in hybrid powertrain in order to produce more power than ever before, while the successor of the M550i xDrive will probably be a PHEV too.

Starting with the basics, the upcoming 5 Series will be based on a new version of BMW’s CLAR architecture. In line with BMW’s “Power of Choice” strategy, it will be available in mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric variants – with the latter being called the i5.

The M550i’s Successor Could Ditch V8 For Straight-Six Hybrid

While the current turbocharged four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines are reportedly being carried over to the next generation, this is less likely for the twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 found in M550i xDrive. It is suggested that this engine will be 15-years-old when the new 5-Series arrives so it could be very expensive to make it compliant with the Euro 7 emission regulations.

Instead, BMW could replace the M550i xDrive with a performance-oriented PHEV, using a more powerful version of the 545e xDrive‘s powertrain. This one is fitted with a 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine and an electric motor producing a combined 394 hp (294 kW / 400 PS). The potential addition of a second electric motor mounted on the rear axle – something that is possible in the CLAR architecture – would allow for power figures around 500 hp, inching closer to M550i territory.

Next M5 Could Us A Hybridized V8 Turbo

Given that the first full fat M car with a fully electric powertrain will not arrive before 2025, the next M5 is expected to be a plug-in hybrid. The addition of electric motors in combination with a twin-turbo V8 engine will allow it to produce more than the 627 hp (468 kW / 636 PS) of the current M5 CS in order to compete with Mercedes-AMG’s future plug-in hybrid model. More specifically, the V8-based hybrid powertrain of the new M5 will be allegedly introduced by the X8 M, with a rumored combined output of 750 hp (559 kW / 760 PS).

While this is more than enough for a performance sedan, the magazine believes that BMW could launch an even more powerful fully electric i5 M with three electric motors producing a combined 800 hp (597 kW / 811 PS). This would make it a direct competitor to the Porsche Taycan Turbo S, Audi e-tron GT, Tesla Model S Plaid and the AMG variant of the Mercedes EQE, with all of them offering supercar-rivaling acceleration figures.

We are hoping to learn more about the eighth-generation BMW 5 Series and its performance variants as we approach its debut in mid-2023.