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BMW plans to have a plug-in hybrid version of every model it makes, starting with the X5 SUV.
“We are planning to have a plug-in hybrid in each and every model series,” BMW’s head of production for large vehicle, Peter Wolf, told motoring.com.au. “This is the next step in our EfficientDynamics strategy.”
A plug-in hybrid concept version of the SUV, the X5 eDrive, was recently revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Powered by a four-cylinder twin-turbo petrol engine and a 94hp electric motor, it shows how the gap between the sustainability-focused BMW i3 and i8 and the company’s more conventional models can be bridged.
The X5 eDrive’s battery gives it a range of around 20 miles at speeds of up to 75mph, although the headline figure is its combined 74.3mpg, a number so far out of reach for a full size SUV.
Although the X5 eDrive is supposedly close to being production-ready, Wolf was coy about when we can expect it to go on sale. He said that it will not be before 2015. Battery packaging issues are the likely source of the delay, not only for the X5 but for every vehicle in BMW’s stable.
The X5 eDrive will, however, be aimed squarely at the diesel-sceptic US market.
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