BMWBLOG was the first to report about the luxury brand’s intentions to diversify the 5 Series lineup with an i5 xDrive40. We initially wrote about the entry-level, all-wheel-drive electric 5er days after the G60 was formally unveiled, but it’s only now that the new i5 flavor is being officially confirmed. The i5 xDrive40 shows up in the pricing list for 2024MY products, and as expected, it slots between the i5 eDrive40 and the i5 M60 xDrive.
At $69,800 (plus $995 destination charges), the i5 xDrive40 costs $3,000 more than the rear-wheel-drive eDrive40 while undercutting the sporty i5 M60 by a rather substantial $14,300. Technical specifications for the all-weather electric sedan remain shrouded in mystery but they’re likely to be similar to those of the i4 xDrive40.
We’ll remind you the zero-emission Gran Coupe has a pair of electric motors making a combined 396 horsepower and an instant torque of 443 pound-feet. It’s worth pointing out that both the i4 and i5 in the lesser eDrive40 specification have 335 hp but the i4 eDrive40 has 317 lb-ft whereas the i5 eDrive40 has only 295 lb-ft. It’s unclear whether there will be any differences in the case of the xDrive models.
In related news, the 550e xDrive also shows up in the document as a plug-in hybrid model that wasn’t confirmed for the US market until now. It costs $73,800 and is joined by another previously unreleased model, the $64,900 540i xDrive. You won’t find any of these in the configurator just yet as only the 530i, 530i xDrive, i5 eDrive40, and i5 M60 are listed at the moment of writing.
BMW USA says the inline-six 540i xDrive will be available later this year while the 550e xDrive is scheduled to go on sale locally in the spring of 2024. Also coming next year, presumably as a 2025MY, will be the M5 Sedan as the range-topping model with over 700 horsepower coming from a plug-in hybrid setup based around the new twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 “S68” engine. The M division has announced the return of the M5 Touring but it’s unclear whether the super wagon will make it to the US of A.
Source: BMW USA
