Production Begins for Another BMW Electric Sedan

• 2024 BMW i5 begins rolling of the assembly line in Dingolfing, Germany, sharing its CLAR platform with the internal-combustion 5-Series, and joining a number of other electric models in BMW's lineup.

• The i5 will be produced alongside the internal-combustion and plug-in hybrid versions of the 5-Series, and will also receive a station wagon variant in the near future.

• Two versions of the i5 will be offered early on, including a single-motor rear-wheel-drive version dubbed i5 eDrive 40 and the dual-motor AWD i5 M60.

BMW kicked off production of the battery-electric i5 sedan in Dingolfing, Germany, adding a midsize sedan to its lineup amid a raft of new electric models. Slated to be offered in rear- and all-wheel-drive versions stateside, the dual-motor i5 M60 xDrive will serve up 590 hp and 549 lb-ft of torque, staking out a spot in a segment that should see plenty of competition later on in the decade.

The i5 joins the all-electric i7 larger sedan and iX midsize crossover on the production line in Dingolfing, with the automaker expecting this plant to see battery-electric models' share surpass 40% at the site by 2024, as BMW continues to offer internal-combustion and plug-in hybrid versions of the 5-Series as well. In fact, BMW has spent over a billion euros tooling up to produce internal-combustion, PHEV, and battery-electric versions of all three cars at Dingolfing.

"We are following the market. Customer requirements determine what the actual drivetrain mix looks like," said Milan Nedeljković, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Production.

The junior model in the lineup, meanwhile, will be the i5 eDrive40, with a single motor out back producing 335 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. The single-motor version should offer 295 miles of range in the EPA cycle once it lands here, thanks to an 84.3-kWh (usable) battery, but the AWD i5 M60 xDrive will dial that down to about 256 miles equipped with the same battery.