BMW produces extended versions of the 5 Series sedan in China and for China, this exclusive rarely gets abroad. In the new generation, the differences between the long Chinese «five» and the short global five have become a little more.
In a press release from BMW on the debut of China's new generation G68, the BMW 5 Series said: «The popularity of the BMW 5 Series in China continues to grow, with about 530,000 copies of this model shipped to local customers from 2020 to 2022 alone.» Meanwhile, fresh data from CAAM (China Association of Automobile Manufacturers) gives a much less rosy picture: in the first half of this year, sales of the Chinese “five” sank by about a quarter (compared to January-June 2022) to 65,602 units, despite the fact that production the outgoing generation G38 sedan at the BMW Brilliance plant in Shenyang will stop only in the fall. The Chinese consumer is now rapidly switching from foreign cars to cars of young local brands, mostly electric ones.
1/3 2/3 3/3The new generation of the BMW 5 Series, fortunately, also has electric versions, designated by the i5 index, and the presentation pictures of the new Chinese “five” show exactly the electric version – although it is not clear which one, the technical specifications have not yet been published. For the global BMW i5 sedan, which debuted in the spring, we recall that two versions are announced — a single-engine rear-wheel drive eDrive40 (340 hp, 430 Nm) and a twin-engine all-wheel drive M60 xDrive (601 hp, 820 Nm), but it’s not a fact that exactly such power plants will be offered in China.
Top — Chinese BMW i5 (G68), bottom — global BMW i5 (G60 )
Moreover, the dimensions and wheelbase of the new Chinese “five” have not even been announced yet, so you can only compare it with the global one by eye. It is only clear that if the BMW 5 Series of the G38 generation had a base of 3105 mm (130 mm more than the global G30 sedan), then the new model will have no less — this is a matter of prestige. The wheelbase of the global sedan of the G60 generation is 2995 mm, add 130 mm to it, we get 3125 mm for the Chinese G68 — it will be one way or more.
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The Chinese BMW i5 has a more harmonious profile due to the elongated rear doors, the plate with the number 5 behind them is larger than that of the global sedan, and the number is illuminated from the inside — a local exclusive. Another option unique to China is a 31.3-inch 8K overhead screen for rear passengers borrowed from the flagship BMW Seven. The multimedia system, of course, is adapted to local, Chinese applications and services, but otherwise, in principle, everything is the same as that of the global sedan, including a curved two-screen display for the driver and “color music” at the window sill level.
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How the BMW i5 will perform against the background of Chinese competitors will be clear only next year — we will follow the sales statistics.
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