Rumors are going around that the BMW i6, to follow the release of the BMW i5, will be an all-electric sedan similar in size to one of the company’s 3-Series offerings, according to recent reports. And that the model will be released in 2020, as a 2021 model year — or so the rumors go anyways.
As it stands, the BMW i5 (presumed to be a an all-electric crossover) is expected to be released as a 2018 model year sometime in 2017.
The new rumors seem to have originated with an Automobile magazine article that noted that “the 2018 i5 will be followed by an all-electric sedan, about the size of today’s BMW 3-Series, that could be called the i6.”
Green Car Reports provides more:
If so, that would neatly resolve the contradictory reports about a small electric sedan: There is indeed one being developed, as the i6, but it will come for 2021 after the crossover i5 in 2018.
“The i6 will be built on a new “flat-floor” component set made specifically for EVs and have lots of carbon-fiber bits and pieces,” the magazine reports. The electric sedan is said to have at least two motors, perhaps as many as four, and may use entirely new lithium-polymer cells in its high-capacity battery pack.
The so-called i6 will arrive sometime during the middle of 2020, Automobile suggests, which would likely make it a 2021 model. But that’s when things get interesting, because by that time the company will also have updated its plug-in hybrid lineup from today’s ranges of 15 to 20 miles to double that or higher.
Interesting rumors. Though, as always, until there’s something solid, who knows what the reality actually is? 2020 is still 4 years off.