BMW 530e iPerformance on sale in Australia in July

Hot on the heels of the standard petrol-powered G30 BMW 5 Series, the 530e iPerformance plug-in hybrid variant is set to hit the Australian market in July, according to CarAdvice. The more eco-friendly executive sedan will reportedly be priced at around the same level as the A$108,900 (RM354,200) 530i, but will come with more kit as standard.

As with the 530i, the 530e is powered by a 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, albeit detuned to 184 hp and 320 Nm of torque. Making up for the shortfall is a 95 hp/250 Nm electric motor integrated into the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, resulting in a total system output of 252 hp and 420 Nm – identical in power and an increase of 70 Nm compared to its fossil-fueled twin.

Under the rear seats sits a 9.2 kWh lithium-ion battery with highly integrated low-temperature circuit and refrigerant cooling. BMW says that charging the battery takes five hours from a domestic socket, or three hours with the 3.7 kW BMW i Wallbox, which is priced at A$2,200 (RM7,200) plus fitment.

BMW 530e

So equipped, the 530e sprints from zero to 100 km/h in 6.2 seconds before hitting a top speed of 235 km/h; combined fuel consumption is rated at 2.3 litres per 100 km. On the flip side, the car is capable of running in electric mode at speeds of up to 140 km/h, and has an all-electric range of 47 km. Real-world range in hybrid mode is pegged at 644 km.

Set to be available in Luxury and M Sport lines, the Australian-market 530e will come standard with adaptive LED headlights with Selective Beam and High Beam Assist, 19-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, a Professional navigation system with a 10.25-inch display, a 16-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, a head-up display, wireless smartphone charging, a 360-degree camera, park assist and a powered bootlid.

Added to that, the car will also include extended ConnectedDrive Services with eDrive functionality specific to the 530e, Acoustic Pedestrian Protection to alert pedestrians of its presence in electric mode, a six-year/100,000 battery warranty and a charging cable. The latter doesn’t come bundled with the Malaysian-market 330e, but is instead offered at BMW service centres as a RM1,442 accessory.

In terms of safety, the Australian-market 530e is specced with the Driving Assistant Plus package, one up on our 530i‘s Driving Assistant and Active Cruise Control combo. This adds the Steering and Lane Control Assistant that allows for up to 30 seconds of autonomous driving on highways, plus the autonomous Lane Change Assistant, Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Change Warning and Side Collision Warning.

The 530e will likely be offered on sale in Malaysia, locally-assembled to reap the tax breaks offered under the Energy Efficient Vehicle (EEV) scheme, following in the footsteps of the 330e, X5 xDrive40e and the recently-introduced 740Le. Just as well, as Mercedes-Benz is also slated to introduce the E 350 e in the third quarter of this year, so it’s set to be quite a battle indeed in the executive market.

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