Last week BMW Group Plant Dingolfing celebrated the official start of production for the new BMW 5 Series Touring. The newcomer is the first premium vehicle in its segment to feature not just a petrol, diesel or plug-in hybrid drive but also a fully electric one.
That makes the BMW i5 Touring the fourth all-electric model to enter series production at Plant Dingolfing in not even three years.
“Our BMW 5 Series Touring is especially important for Germany and the European market, and a lot of customers have been waiting for it,” said Plant Director Christoph Schröder. But at the end of May, the wait will be over, because that’s when the new Touring – now in its sixth generation – will reach dealers’ showrooms and the first cars are handed over to customers. The new model is already available to order now.
Since launching the first generation in 1991, Plant Dingolfing in Lower Bavaria has been the sole producer of the BMW 5 Series Touring, with more than 1.2 million rolling off its production lines over the years. Like its predecessor, the new BMW 5 Series Touring – irrespective of drive – is manufactured flexibly alongside the BMW 5 Series Sedan and BMW 4 Series and 6 Series models, all on a single production line. Investments in the plant for the new BMW 5 Series Touring amount to approx. 80 million euros.
“For us here in Dingolfing, the BMW 5 Series is part of our DNA,” explained Plant Director Christoph Schröder, “and the launch of the new Touring represents the next step in the renewal of our successful model series.” Last year BMW 5 Series vehicles accounted for about a third of output from Dingolfing. But with the Touring now available, numbers could rise significantly in 2024, potentially nearing the 50 percent mark.
