At the 2014 Detroit Auto Show,->ke222 BMW’s->ke178 Head of Electric Vehicle Operations hinted at another electric vehicle->ke1030 that will be larger and go farther than the 2015 BMW i3. BMW had also already registered the i5->ke5081 name at that point, so we already knew that something new was in the works. Just today, BMW CEO Harald Krueger announced to German newspapers that there is more room for additional “i” vehicles in BMW’s lineup. Unfortunately, he didn’t offer any additional information, and BMW has yet to confirm development of the alleged vehicle. Given the evidence at hand, it is safe to assume we’ll be hearing more official news on the subject shortly.

Rumors of the future existence of a 2018 BMW i5 are scattered all over the internet, and it is also widely speculated that BMW aims to take on Tesla’s->ke1842 Model S.->ke3329 While there is likelihood that this may be the case, independent renderings have shown mixed opinions, and BMW has remained silent on the matter. Some renderings show a crossover->ke288 similar to the i3,->ke4694 and others offer a sedan->ke142 similar to the 2015 BMW i8. Either way, BMW keeps hinting at its intentions to make a bigger presence in the electric car market.

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Why it matters

Speculation has spread like wildfire on the subject, so I don’t see a point to adding fuel to that fire. If BMW is going to bring a vehicle to combat the Model S, it better come up with a better energy source. The i3 barely goes 80 miles on a charge, and the i8 – in electric mode – gets a laughable 18-mile range at best. If the so-called i5 is going to compete with the Model S, or the 2015 Tesla Model X for that matter, I would expect no lass than 250 miles on a charge. Furthermore, going against Tesla also means combating its supercharger network that gives an 80 percent charge in roughly an hour. If BMW is serious about entering the long-range electric market, perhaps it should look to work with Tesla instead of against it, but that isn’t any of my business.

2015 BMW i3

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