27 years after its debut, the BMW X5 gets a fully electric version
Production of the fifth-generation BMW X5 began in August, and the model now gets a fully electric version, the iX5, for the first time.
This comes 27 years after the X5's debut. In Estonia, pre-orders for the new model are already open, with the official launch this coming winter.
Production of the fifth-generation BMW X5 began in August in Spartanburg, USA. Twenty-seven years after the model's debut, the X5 gains a fully electric version for the first time, and pre-orders are already open in Estonia.
The essentials
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Generation | fifth (G65) |
| Production start | August 2026, Spartanburg (USA) |
| Powertrains | petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid, electric iX5; later iX5 Hydrogen |
| iX5 production starts | December 2026 |
| iX5 electrical system | 800 V, 6th-gen eDrive |
| iX5 battery | 141 kWh (Europe, net) – BMW's largest |
The X5 story: the birth of a new class
The arrival of the BMW X5 in 1999 marked a significant shift for the company: a maker known mainly for sporty sedans and coupés brought a large all-wheel-drive model to market, combining SUV space with the driving character of BMW's cars. With the X5, BMW introduced the term SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) and laid the foundation for the entire X model family. According to Raido Lembit, head of premium brands at Inchcape, the first X5 showed that a large, practical all-wheel-drive car could offer the driving qualities customers expected from sedans, establishing a new class of car at the end of the last century.
Production of the first X5 began in 1999 in Spartanburg, and the model has been built at that plant ever since – more than three million X5s have been made there across four generations. Autoportaal lists a wide selection of used BMW X5s.
Fifth generation, five powertrains
The new X5 is the first BMW model offered with five different powertrains: petrol and diesel versions, a plug-in hybrid and the fully electric iX5, with the hydrogen-powered iX5 Hydrogen to follow later. According to Lembit, the Estonian car market has changed quickly and no longer favours a single powertrain – some buyers prefer an EV, others a plug-in hybrid or a combustion engine – and the new X5 caters to these different expectations by offering the same model with different drivetrains.
The fully electric BMW iX5
Production of the fully electric iX5 begins in Spartanburg in December 2026, making it the first fully electric car built at that plant. It uses BMW's sixth-generation eDrive technology and an 800-volt electrical system, and its 141 kWh battery (Europe, net) is the largest BMW has yet fitted to a car. A new high-voltage battery assembly plant has been built near Spartanburg for it, which BMW says uses no fossil fuels in normal production. If an EV appeals to you, Autoportaal also lists other electric BMWs, such as the BMW iX.
When and where
Pre-orders for the new BMW X5 are already open in Estonia, with the official launch this coming winter.
See also: BMW X5 listings on Autoportaal · all BMW listings
