[Mark]

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All electric F10 5-Series being worked on for China?

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China has really proved itself to be ahead of the curve on the EV front and it seems BMW will come on board and produce an all electric 5-Series exclusively for the Chinese market.

This new car is not to be confused with the ActiveHybrid 5, which will have its official launch in September 2011. The ActiveHybrid 5 still has a gasoline motor afterall. No, this new car will be an all electric vehicle and would likely fall under BMWs growing ActiveE project. BMW has already announced the MINIe and 1-Series ActiveE, electric variants of the MINI and 1-Series but has not made an official or unofficial peep about an electric 5-series variant as of yet.

Autonews Europe is referencing a report from the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper which pinpoints a partnership between BMW and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd in order to produce the vehicle. Brilliance is BMWs current partner in building standard Chinese market BMW 5-Series, which includes the Long Wheel Base (Li) version, and as such would be the no brainer selection.

The newspaper believes the car would be officially unveiled at a Chinese autoshow later this year, which puts the Shanghai Autoshow right in the crosshairs.

[Source: Autonews]

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[Diver]

I don't think that battery technology has reached the point where all electric cars are worth driving. Range is not good under the best conditions and is reduced by either cold weather or running air conditioning.

[pharding]

The F10 is way too big and heavy to be an all electric vehicle. The source at Beijing Youth Daily newspaper is not hardly a particularly reliable source.

[BMW SP]

remember China's joint venture laws mean that BMW will have to share that technology with Brilliance Motors, and since BMW has spent hundreds of millions on electric car technology this is highly unlikely as it would be handing over extensive research from the worlds number one premium car manufacture for free.
however there was a recent report on Bloomberg stating that china might water down its joint venture laws... so we shall see.

[AlexK]

Originally Posted by Diver

Range is not good under the best conditions

It all depends on your personal needs - my work is located 10 miles away from my house, the 2 nearest shopping malls are like 5 miles away from my house, so even a "100 miles"-range electric car would satisfy most of my needs.

[antzcrashing]

Originally Posted by Diver

I don't think that battery technology has reached the point where all electric cars are worth driving. Range is not good under the best conditions and is reduced by either cold weather or running air conditioning.

in China you don't have to drive as far to get places and more people live in cities - so its more practical than even the US.

[Evice]

reading the posts above, only thing I can think of to say.. Jealous much ??

[SCOTT26]

@ Beijing last year BMW unveiled along with it's Chinese partner a BMW 5er Li based on the E60 as the F10 was far too new and was making it's Chinese Premiere.

This year they will replace the E60 with the F10 based electric 5er Li.

[delvek]

I would be the first one to torch my 550 if they stick a battery in it . The 5 series isn't an electric car, sounds like a waste of resources being dumped into the never ending battery powered car saga / failure.

[grimlock]

Ironically this has a chance to succeed where others failed (ie. BYD)..
if Bmw can parlay its brand -which virtually guarantees it massive profits in the chinese market- into a working product, the cost of making mistakes in China is lower for the mother company, and if it works, thats gravy
I guess such 'marginal' ventures would not be so acceptable if it were conducted at home..

and battery capacity/cost in china is advantageous