BMW to Launch Hydrogen-Powered iX5 SUV in 2028
Key Points:
- Hydrogen powertrain co-developed with Toyota will join gas, diesel, plug-in hybrid and electric as the X5’s fifth available powertrain.
- Launching first in Germany and France.
The X5 SUV is not only BMW’s bestselling model in the U.S., it also boasts the most diverse powertrain lineup of any vehicle in the brand’s showrooms. We don’t just mean the selection of inline-six engines with or without plug-in hybrid assistance and the twin-turbocharged V-8 currently available in the U.S.; the X5 is also offered overseas with diesel power, and an electric version is coming soon. To that portfolio, BMW is preparing to add a fifth motivating technology: a hydrogen fuel cell.
Related: 2024 BMW X5 M60i Review: The Brute From Bavaria
Since fuel cells use hydrogen to generate electricity and drive their wheels with electric motors, the technology is frequently abbreviated FCEV, for fuel-cell electric vehicle. BMW has been experimenting with hydrogen for decades, but the iX5 Hydrogen will be its first production model powered by the gas and will use fuel-cell technology developed in tandem with Toyota. At this point, BMW is not sharing any details yet on the iX5’s output or range, but it says the third-generation fuel cell will be smaller, more powerful and more efficient than Toyota’s current technology.
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Toyota has been selling its hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered Mirai in the U.S. since the 2016 model year. Well, in just one of the United States: California, which has the best — but still woefully underdeveloped — public hydrogen refueling infrastructure anywhere in the country. Similarly, the iX5 Hydrogen will launch first in Germany and France. BMW is simultaneously launching its Hydrogen Mobility at Scale initiative, which seeks to support existing hydrogen-mobility ecosystems and foster future expansion and growth of the necessary infrastructure in other countries.
Whether the U.S. is one of those countries remains to be seen, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see the iX5 join the Mirai, Honda CR-V e:FCEV and Hyundai Nexo on the menu for early hydrogen adopters in California.
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