BMW i5 Expected to Be Released in 2018 and Will Try to Compete With the Model S

 Electric Cars  

BMW is ready to launch a new model from its i division, which will be a plug-in hybrid, instead of an all-electric vehicle, like previously thought.

BMW's electric cars from the company's “i series” have been selling quite well lately, with sales of the i3 and the i8 in the U.S. market actually exceeding expectations, so it's no surprise that the German car maker is thinking about launching another electric model, which is expected to try and battle it out with arguably the best electric car on the market, the Tesla Model S. While the potential Model S rival has been rumored to be launched somewhere around 2020, a new report in “Autobild”, a German automotive magazine, now states that BMW's latest plug-in model is set to arrive in 2018.

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According to the report, BMW is ready to launch a new model from its i division, which will be a plug-in hybrid, instead of an all-electric vehicle, like previously thought, with the Chinese premium car market as one of its main targets. The report states that this hybrid will be called i5, and will be a luxury sedan, just like the Model S. And like Tesla's ultra popular sedan, the i5 will also have a pretty hefty price tag of around 100 000 euros, as Autobild says.

Over the past few months there has been a lot of speculation regarding the platform the i5 will employ and its performances, but now Autobild has revealed specific details on the car's power output and powertrain. The i5 is expected to be based on the i3 platform, and will probably employ a powerplant that will be similar to the one BMW recently showcased in the 5 Series plug-in hybrid prototype. It will be powered by a gasoline engine delivering 218 horsepower, along with an electric motor with 150 horsepower at the front end, and a second one at the car's rear end, providing an additional 272 horsepower.

This makes for a total power output of 640 horsepower, which is amazing for an electric car, but still falls short of the 690 horsepower produced by the motors mounted in the Model S P85D. The car will lag behind the Model S in terms of all-electric range, as well, being rated at 78 miles, according to Autobild, which is better than most hybrids on sale today, though. The gasoline engine will be activated when the car exceeds 37 mph.

Even though the i5 will have a shorter range than the Model S, it will likely be just as dynamic and sporty as Tesla's sedan, or maybe even more, given that it will use the Power eDrive drivetrain, which employs pretty powerful electric motors. When it comes to the i5's design, Autobild says that it will probably share a few similarities with the 7 Series, which is supposed to be released soon.

With the i5, the German luxury car maker hopes to be able to become an important player in the market for luxury electric vehicles in China, as well as North America, where the Model S is the undisputed leader at the moment. BMW reportedly plans to build 30,000 units of the i5 per year.

By Jordan Perch

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Author Bio - 33rd Square contributor Jordan Perch is an automotive fanatic and “safe driving” specialist. He is a writer for DMV.com, which is a collaborative community designed to help ease the stress and annoyance of “dealing with the DMV”