BMW had its Annual General Meeting this week and aside from providing a first glimpse of the new Vision Vehicle concept, company chairman Harald Krüger also announced when the next-generation X5 will receive its debut. While he did not provide an exact date, the man in charge at BMW did reveal the midsize luxury SUV will be officially unveiled later this year.
His disclosure comes to confirm the current-generation X5 (F15) will have a relatively short life cycle of about four years, with BMW deciding to skip the usual Life Cycle Impulse (LCI) in order to make the transition towards the next-gen model (G05) bound to ride on the CLAR platform.
It’s not the only new X model in the pipeline for a 2018 release as this will also be the year when BMW will once again expand its portfolio of SUVs. After unveiling the X2 in October 2017, the X7 will go into production late 2018 at the Spartanburg factory in South Carolina.
Interestingly, Harald Krüger also said the 8 Series family will encompass at least six models, including an M8 Gran Coupe, which he said will usher in a new design language for BMW as previewed by the stunning concepta few months ago in Geneva. In other words, it means the 8 Series Coupe, Convertible, and Gran Coupe will all be getting fully fledged M models that will be considered as separate models.
The 8 Series Coupe is BMW’s next big reveal and we will get to see it on June 15 at Le Mans where most likely the M850i xDrive will be at the forefront. The next-gen Z4 roadster is also scheduled for a release later in 2018, so it’s safe to say the company has a lot on its plate for the second half of the year.
Source: Motor1
