On Thursday, the BMW Group unveiled its latest 5 Series sedan in South Korea for the first time, underscoring the market’s significance for the German automaker. (Image courtesy of reporter Yim Seong-ho at Yonhap News)
SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – BMW Group on Thursday launched its new 5 series sedan for the first time in South Korea, reflecting the importance of the market for the German carmaker.
The new 5 series is available in three versions — a gasoline or a diesel-powered engine, or an electric power train, BMW Group Korea said in a statement.
The 520i and 530i xDrive models are equipped with BMW’s TwinPower Turbo four-cylinder gasoline engine and a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, while the 523d and 523d xDrive models come with the TwinPower Turbo four-cylinder diesel engines and the same mild-hybrid system, it said.
The rear-wheel-drive i5 eDrive40 carries a single motor that puts out 340 horsepower and the all-wheel-drive i5 M60 xDrive has a dual motor that produces 601 horsepower.
The i5 eDrive40 and I5 M60 xDrive both equipped with a 81.2 kWh battery pack can travel up to 384 kilometers and 361km, respectively, on a single charge.
The gasoline models are priced at 67 million-89 million won (US$49,000-$66,000), with the diesel models selling at 76 million-83 million won. The all-electric models are available at 94 million-104 million won.
BMW Group Korea sells vehicles under three brands — BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce.
In the January-August period, the three brands sold a total of 56,817 vehicles in Korea, down 2.4 percent from 58,185 units a year earlier amid higher interest rates and an economic slowdown.
South Korea was the biggest market for BMW when it comes to the 5 series models for the whole of 2022 and for the January-August period.
BMW sold about 21,000 units of the 5 series models last year and 16, 000 5 series models in the first eight months here.
The company did not count China in the 5 series sedan’s sales rankings because BMW sells localized 5 series models only in the world’s biggest automobile market.
(Yonhap)
