BMW i5 SUV next up for the i Division?

There have been many speculations about what the BMW i division will release next. The past few cars released, namely i3 and i8, have wowed the crowd and most of us can’t help but sit on the edge of our seats, wanting more. Could a BMW i5 SUV be up next?

By right, the next vehicle from the i division is due for release in 2017 or 2018. If that’s the case, we should see prototypes testing soon. However, we haven’t really heard anything official about the next plans.

It just makes a lot of sense for the next vehicle to be an SUV. It’s size is perfect to fit a good battery pack and can be all wheel drive, plus there is also a big market for SUVs all over the world. Audi is even set on making their first-ever all-electric vehicle in production to be an SUV.

BMW board member, Ian Robertson, says, “Legislation means we’ll inevitably have more zero-emission cars and we’re exploring more i models, although no firm decisions have been made yet.”

However, Robertson says the German automaker is not in a rush for the next i division vehicle because they are very focused in developing and launching new technologies. He says: “i is about all technologies. It’s seen as something different in countries other than the UK, where it seems to be more about the power source. But we have advanced technologies feeding into our other products, such as the carbon fibre used throughout the new 7 Series. We’ll have i technology moving into our products from one side in the same way we have technology from our M cars moving in from the other.”

There are still a lot of challenges faced by BMW in building a perfect electric vehicle. Learning from experience, they still need to improve on the battery for a longer range and better performance.

Source: Auto Express