With all the hype about new class, you could wonder whether electric cars outside the NK family will benefit from the new developments. The short answer is. BMW has officially confirmed that the sixth generation of battery technology is applied to other products in the huge installation of the company. As you can imagine, it is premature for the luxury car manufacturer to specify which models. Nevertheless, we are confident that we know your identity.
BMW is working on electrical versions of the next generation X5, X6 and X7. The noble SUVs are known internally as G65, G66 or G67. Instead of using the existing gene5 battery technology with prismatic cells, IX5, IX6 and IX7 will probably use the brand new round cells. As a refreshment, the new batteries have 30% faster and a 20% higher energy density.
The maximum range increases by 30%and in some cases reaches 900 kilometers (560 miles). However, since these large SUVs are difficult and that they are not the aerodynamic vehicles, it is unlikely that the Trio IX5/IX6/IX7 will come close to this number.
Of the three future SUVs, only the X5 is offered in a second zero emission taste. We speak of a hydrogen IX5 that is made possible with the help of Toyota and his know-how-how. BMW’s first trading hydrogen production car will be launched in 2028.
The X5 will probably be the first non-new class model that uses the sixth generation batteries. Production is reported to begin in August 2026, followed by X7 in August 2027 and X6 in April 2028. It is unclear whether the EVS will be available from day one. In view of the fact that the youngest electric cars have started with their combustion engine colleagues of the latest electric cars.
Another piece of the puzzle that we are currently missing is whether the next X5 uses the round cells with a plug-in hybrid drive train. Similar to the existing models, we do not expect any PHEV versions of the future X6 and X7.
