BMW has stretched the X5. The German carmaker has shown long-wheelbase versions of the next-generation X5 and the first fully electric iX5, built for China, with a wheelbase of 3,165mm against 3,035mm on the standard car. Both go on sale there in 2027. Reports in India point to the same stretched car reaching this market in the second half of 2027, which suits a country where the owner often sits behind the driver.What BMW changed for the Chinese X5 BMW built these as standalone variants under the G78 code, and China gets the long version alone. The extra 130mm went into larger rear doors and rear legroom. Neue Klasse lighting arrives at the front with diagonal signatures and an optional double-X design, while the tail treatment widens the stance.About The AuthorAt heart, I am a storyteller drawn to the watershed moments that bend the technology landscape. I braid narrative with data, humanise statistics, and trace the arc from first spark to world-changing impact. My reportage, features and reviews are witty, sardonic, visual and vivid, using anecdote to illuminate rather than eviscerate.
As a technology journalist with over sixteen years of experience, I have travelled the world and the seven seas, covered every major tech conference worth its lanyard, chronicled the defining breakthroughs of the last decade and a half, and played a pivotal role in launching some of India’s most important technology publishing platforms across web, print and TV.
