BMW’s new iX3 is a range monster, but the iX5 may push past 500 miles
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- BMW is running final calibration tests on the fifth-generation X5, including the first fully electric iX5 60 xDrive, at its Spartanburg, South Carolina plant, with a debut slated for end of summer and sales starting in early 2027
- The iX5 will carry a 144 kWh battery in the US (141 kWh in Europe) — the largest ever fitted to a BMW EV — and is expected to surpass the iX3 50 xDrive's 500-mile WLTP range
- The iX5 60 xDrive uses BMW's sixth-generation eDrive system with 800V architecture, which BMW says delivers 30% faster charging and 30% more range than the outgoing system
- Unlike the iX3, the iX5 will not ride on the dedicated Neue Klasse EV platform but on an updated version of BMW's CLAR platform that also supports combustion engines
- The new X5 lineup will be offered with five powertrains: battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, mild hybrid, gasoline, and hydrogen fuel cell
- The iX5 60 xDrive produces a combined 578 hp (425 kW) from its xDrive all-wheel-drive system
- The 2027 iX3 50 xDrive is priced from $61,500 in the US (EPA range 434 miles) and in November drove 620 miles from BMW's Debrecen, Hungary plant to Munich without recharging
Why it matters: BMW is putting a 144 kWh pack — its biggest EV battery ever — into the iX5 to clear the 500-mile range bar set by the iX3, yet the iX5 skips the dedicated Neue Klasse EV architecture and shares an updated CLAR platform with gas, hybrid, and hydrogen X5 variants. That choice means the iX5 misses the cost and weight advantages of a clean-sheet EV design, in exchange for a five-powertrain X5 family with a starting price likely around $75,000 in the US.
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![BMW iX5 LWB debuts with a range of over 620 miles and a huge Theater Screen [Images]](https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/07/BMW-iX5-LWB-range.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1400)
