BMW’s sixth and newest iPerformance vehicle, the hybrid 5-series, is a further step towards electric mobility. And another nail in the coffin for the diesel engine.

Since it became obvious that the fairytale of a clean diesel engine is just a motoring myth the development of hybrids is gaining momentum. Eventually they will replace the oil burners. Economical, emission-friendly and – like the one I am driving now – surprisingly agile. Right now they are still more expensive, but this will change with increasing production numbers.
And manufacturers are working together to speed up the hybrid car distribution. At the moment Mercedes-Benz and BMW are cooperating on a new inductive charging technology. From 2018 onwards you can just drive your Beemer or Merc over a pad in the ground, at a parking lot, hotel or at home. And use a Smartphone app to wirelessly charge your batteries.
As mentioned before the 530e performs surprisingly well on the German autobahn. Taking the fear out of driving a hybrid. Plugged into an ordinary household socket the battery will fully charge in five hours. With BMW’s wall box it’ll be full in three.
All sixth iPerformance Beemers (and the i3 and i8) are easily identifiable by the kidney grille slats in iblue. BMW edrive is currently offered for the BMW 2-, 3-, 5- and 7-series as well as the X5.
BMW SA is currently thinking of making the 530e iPerformance available locally. At this stage they will most likely introduce it in the last quarter or 2017 or first quarter of 2018, depending on economic conditions in the market.

BMW 530e iPerformance
Engine 2.0-l. twin-turbo, combined with an electric one
Power 185kW and 420Nm
Top Speed 235 km/h
0-100km/h 6.2 seconds
Price tba
bmw.co.za