- BMW has confirmed specs and pricing for the upcoming plug-in-hybrid version of the 2025 5-series.
- Called the 550e xDrive, it has a six-cylinder gasoline engine, a 19.4-kWh battery pack, and an electric motor integrated into the eight-speed automatic transmission.
- The 550e xDrive will start at $74,795 and will go on sale in the U.S. in summer 2024.
UPDATE 1/30/24: BMW has confirmed that the 550e will be a 2025 model-year vehicle in the U.S. Production will begin in July 2024.
Although it has now spawned a new electric variant called the i5, the latest generation of the BMW 5-series luxury sedan will continue to offer a plug-in-hybrid powertrain. We now have specs and pricing for the new 2024 BMW 550e xDrive, along with confirmation that it will arrive in the U.S. in the spring of 2024.
As you might guess from its badging, this new hybrid model is considerably more powerful than the previous-generation BMW 530e PHEV. It uses a six-cylinder gasoline engine instead of a four-cylinder, which means it produces a total of 483 horsepower. The electric motor is integrated into the eight-speed automatic transmission, and the battery pack is significantly larger than before, at 19.4 kWh. We don’t have EPA ratings yet, but based on global WLTP range estimates, this bigger battery should enable a far longer electric range of around 40 miles on the EPA cycle, or nearly double what the old 530e offered.
We don’t yet have photos of the 550e, so we’ve pictured the Europe-spec 530e hybrid here. BMW will continue to offer this four-cylinder PHEV setup in other markets; it has 295 horsepower and the same battery pack. The U.S. will only get the 550e, and it may look different from the model pictured here, possibly sporting an M Sport body kit and larger wheels.
With a starting price of $74,795, the 550e will be positioned above either of the 5-series’ gasoline models, the 530i and 540i. At least until the new M5 arrives, the hybrid will be the second most powerful 5-series, behind only the electric 593-hp i5 M60 xDrive which starts at $85,095. Look for the 550e to arrive at U.S. dealerships starting in the summer of 2024.
This story was originally published September 18, 2023.
Despite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.