BMW i5 Concept – EV leaked ahead of Frankfurt debut

The BMW i5 Concept will be making its debut at next week’s IAA show in Frankfurt, but Munich has inadvertently confirmed the i5’s design, which looks similar to the patent images that surfaced late last year. This happened via a video showing mobility through the years on its German press site, as noted by Carscoops.

The third model in Munich’s i range after the i3 and i8 is a saloon with a notchback-style body. According to Autocar, it will be powered by BMW’s fifth-generation battery electric system with new generation battery cells and electric motors, good for a pure electric range of between 500 to 700 km. It’s scheduled for introduction in 2021.

“By 2025, we will offer 25 electrified vehicles – 12 will be fully electric,” BMW chairman Harald Krüger told the media yesterday, adding that the new i model is a “significant milestone in BMW’s roadmap for e-mobility”.

“It is a vision of how we imagine a four-door, fully electric vehicle between the i3 and i8. It is a vision we want to realise in the foreseeable future,” he said of the i5.

“The i model we have planned for launch in 2021 will incorporate our fifth-generation battery electric system – a step that will take us to the next level,” BMW R&D boss Klaus Fröhlich said, adding that it’s “a big leap in energy density and overall range” over today’s i3.

Apparently, the i5 will be one of four new pure EVs set to be confirmed by BMW in Frankfurt. According to the UK mag, the other EVs are the first series production electric MINI, an electric X3 and a separate i brand model known for now as iNext. The latter, a development of the Vision Next 100, is set to be a high-riding crossover, according to BMW sources, who also suggest that it will be called i7.

GALLERY: BMW i5 patent images

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.