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Michael Taylor1 Jul 2015
NEWS

BMW i5 on the way

After the i3 and the i8, BMW is planning a more mainstream electric car to rival Tesla's Model S

BMW will finally launch its all-electric large sedan in 2019, sources in Germany have admitted.

While it used the dead-sexy i8 to shine a light on its electric technology and the i3 as a radical benchmark to introduce the i brand, the next model will be infinitely more practical.

The i3’s ungainly suicide doors will go so rear-seat kiddies will finally be able to let themselves out, and don’t expect the radical concept-car looks of the i8, either.

Instead, BMW is expected to deliver an i5 in a more conventional three-box sedan shape, complete with both full battery-electric and plug-in hybrid powertrains.

While BMW is working on hydrogen fuel cell technology, that won’t be a production reality until about 2020 or 2021. In the meantime, it will rely on a latest-generation lithium-ion battery for its pure-electric i5.

Both models will be all-wheel drive, with the battery-electric (BEV) version twisting the rear wheels with a two-speed transmission and about 170kW from its electric motor. Up front will be a 100kW electric motor driving the front wheels and there’s obviously no mechanical connection between the two.

The plug-in hybrid version will use just one electric motor driving the front axle, with a version of the i8’s layout delivering either three- or four-cylinder petrol power at the rear.

The lithium-ion battery pack will line up in the floor of the car, which will be designed specifically for the i5 and won’t be shared with any other production BMW.

That’s because it will be carbon-fibre and that’s expensive and usually low-volume. BMW thinks it’s got both problems licked after working on the i3 and i8, though it’ll need more volume from the i5 than either of the first i models have delivered so far if it wants to keep its supplier base on side.

We wouldn’t expect a pure carbon car, though, with sources indicating a mix of aluminium and carbon, like BMW employs in the i3, which is more economical and therefore more likely.

Even so, that means the five-seat sedan should tip the scales south of the 1600kg barrier, even though it will run the full luxury spec you’d expect of a 5 Series.

The i5 was a pet project of former BMW boss Norbert Reithofer, but so were the Z2, the 2 Series GT and the i8 S, all of which have been knocked on the head by new BMW board member for development, Klaus Fröhlich.

The i5 has so far escaped the carnage and is still slated to go head-to-head with Tesla’s Model S by 2019.

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Written byMichael Taylor
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