The first-ever fully electric BMW 5 Series sedan – the highly anticipated BMW i5 (2024 BMW Unveils 8th Generation 5 Series Sedan and All-New i5 EV) – has officially entered production at the automaker’s largest European manufacturing facility in Lower Bavaria. This ain’t their first rodeo with EVs either – the plant has already churned out the iX and i7 over the past couple years.
2024 BMW i5 comes equipped with the latest OS 8.5 infotainment system, which allows drivers to play video games during charging, and is expected to play a critical role in BMW’s development as the second-best-selling model after the 3 Series, positioned between the 3 Series and 7 Series.
According to BMW, the new i5 is poised to be a real game changer and major sales growth driver for the brand. It’ll be made available with different powertrain options across global markets. The Dingolfing plant shelled out over a billion euros alone to integrate production of the iX, 7 Series and 5 Series models into its network. With the i5 launch, over 40% of vehicles produced at the facility are projected to be fully electric.
“The BMW i5 and our plant in Dingolfing are perfect examples of how the BMW Group is transforming itself for e-mobility and developing our plants on the road to the BMW iFACTORY,” said Milan Nedeljković, BMW AG board member for production. “E-mobility is the new normal at our plants worldwide.”
Between 2021 and 2024, BMW plans to offer a whopping 15 fully electric models globally. To pull this off, the automaker is relying on flexible vehicle architectures that allow models like the 7 Series, X1 and now 5 Series to be built with different powertrain variants – fully electric, combustion engine or plug-in hybrid – based on customer demand. This requires serious flexibility, but lets BMW efficiently utilize plant capacity and tweak its lineup based on what buyers want.
As Dingolfing’s bread and butter, the 8th Gen 5 Series series will provide some much needed oomph for production volumes at the plant. Last year, over 280,000 vehicles rolled off the line there. With the new 5 Series and other upcoming launches like the 5 Series Touring, plant director Christoph Schröder expects that figure to climb well over 300,000 in the coming year.
“The BMW 5 Series has traditionally been Dingolfing’s core model and will provide valuable impetus for volumes again this time,” said Schröder. The iconic sedan’s successful transition to an electric variant will be key for long-term capacity and securing jobs at the facility.
So the future’s looking bright and electric at BMW’s Dingolfing plant, with the highly anticipated 8th Generation 5 Series Sedan launch, we’re witnessing the start of a new era for the brand’s legendary 5 Series lineup.
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