G05 BMW X5 xDrive45e coming to Malaysia soon?

Some news on the BMW plug-in hybrid front, as it appears that the G05 BMW X5 xDrive45e is indeed coming to Malaysia – and very soon at that. A sales advisor posted the news on Facebook in the BMW X5 e40 Hybrid Club Malaysia group, promising a tentative launch in either late April or early May (assuming, of course, that the government’s movement control order doesn’t extend beyond that).

This would make it the second of Munich’s new generation of plug-in hybrids to arrive here after the 745Le xDrive, which was introduced last July. The latter was renamed the 740Le for the local market, so we could perhaps assume that the new X5 will also carry over the xDrive40e designation of its predecessor.

If so, the moniker would belie the uprated powertrain in the new model. Instead of an N20 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine in the F15, the G05 uses a B58 3.0 litre straight-six making 286 PS from 5,000 to 6,000 rpm and 450 Nm of torque from 1,500 to 3,500 rpm – slightly down on the 340 PS produced by the same engine in the xDrive40i petrol.

Sandwiched between it and a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission is an electric motor that continues to churn out 113 PS, but ups maximum torque to 265 Nm. All in all, BMW claims a total output of 394 PS and 600 Nm, enough for the big SUV to see off 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds before hitting a top speed of 235 km/h.

The lithium-ion battery, located underneath the boot floor, has also been beefed up – gross capacity has jumped from 9.0 kWh to 24 kWh. With nearly triple the storage, all-electric range has also more than doubled to between 67 and 87 km (even on the stricter WLTP cycle), depending on the equipment. Combined fuel consumption ranges from 1.2 to 1.9 litres per 100 km on the same cycle.

The company claims a charging time of 6.8 hours using a 3.7 kW Type 2 charger and a standard 230-volt European domestic socket. The battery eats up 150 litres of boot space of a standard X5, leaving 500 litres of usable luggage capacity with all five seats up (1,750 litres with the rear seats folded).

The introduction of a plug-in hybrid model would almost certainly lower the entry point into X5 ownership (currently priced at RM618,800), due to tax incentives carried over from the outgoing model. For your information, the F15 xDrive40e was priced at RM390,800, whilst its competitor, the Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine, retails at between RM399,888 and RM409,888.

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