The BMW X5 is set to adopt a more “mean” look in its next generation, according to an overseas dealer who has seen it.
Automotive News reports BMW showed dealers from across the Americas a raft of next-generation products at a conference in Las Vegas, with one of these being the next X5.
One dealer called the look of the X5 “mean”, and said its headlights are “probably the coolest thing I’ve seen”.
The next X5 will reportedly feature a new X-shaped headlight assembly with integrated daytime running lights.
Current X5
BMW executives also reportedly told dealers the brand doesn’t intend to stop building V8s yet and intends to continue catering to demand, which suggests we could still see X5s with bent-eight power.
The company will imminently reveal a new generation of M5 sedan and wagon, for example, that will use a twin-turbo V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain.
The new X5 is still a few years away. BimmerPost forum user ynguldyn, who claims to compile leaks from within BMW, says it won’t enter production until August 2026.
It will reportedly be joined by an electric version called the iX5, while the petrol range will reportedly include 50 xDrive, M70 xDrive and M versions.
It’s unclear whether the iX5 will use the same architecture as the combustion-powered model, as current electric BMWs like the iX1 and iX3 do, or if it will be among the vehicles on the Neue Klasse dedicated EV architecture.
The current electric iX3 is set to be replaced by a Neue Klasse model.
The current fourth-generation X5, which first entered production in 2018, only recently received a mid-life update. It arrived in Australia late in 2023.
It’s currently offered in Australia with a range of turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel inline six-cylinder engines, with the X5 M60i and X5 M featuring a twin-turbo V8.
Current X5 M Competition
While BMW has yet to build an electric version of its X5, it has developed a hydrogen fuel-cell version.
The X5 is an important vehicle for BMW. While it’s not the brand’s best seller in Australia, it leads the large luxury SUV segment.
With 635 sales so far this year, it outsells the Land Rover Defender (575 sales) and Mercedes-Benz GLE (395 sales, not including 100 GLE Coupes).
It has a coupe SUV spinoff of its own, the X6, which will reportedly be replaced in 2028 and also gain an electric option.
MORE: Everything BMW X5
