BMW says goodbye to EVs – It has solved the problem of hydrogen engines and from this date begins a new era. Click here.
BMW says goodbye to EVs – It has solved the problem of hydrogen engines and from this date begins a new era
BMW says goodbye to EVs - It has solved the problem of hydrogen engines and from this date begins a new era
While the world seems to have fully embraced battery-powered electric cars, BMW is taking a different path: going against the grain and doing whatever it wants. They do this simply because they can, after all, they are BMW. Now they have confirmed that in 2028 they will launch a hydrogen car, but they will not do it alone. Years ago they signed a partnership with Toyota that would put their competitors on the ropes, and now, they have reaffirmed this alliance. And no, it will not just be a Toyota Mirai with a different badge (or so they say), they have something much better up their sleeve.
What we know so far:
From now, BMW has kept details under wraps, it is a secret! But it will not be launched until four years from now.
We do know that the car they are preparing is an existing model that they will modify so that it can run on hydrogen, which has led us to think that perhaps it could be an evolution of the current BMW iX5, a vehicle that has already been on the market for some years and it would not be surprising if by 2028 they wanted to reinvent it and use the skeleton of this vehicle for its new version.
What is clear is that BMW is committed to delivering a truly original product, 100% original, and that remains faithful to its own brand, in other words, they do not want to sell a redesigned Toyota.
What do they have in mind?
To give us an idea, the zero-emission SUV has been doing the rounds for some time in real tests with less than 100 units built at the Spartanburg plant and modified in Munich. There, the iX5 Hydrogen has two hydrogen tanks at 700 bars of pressure, with a capacity for 6 kg of hydrogen, which gives it a range of 500 km (according to the WLTP cycle). And here comes the good part: refuelling only takes 3 or 4 minutes, the same as filling up a diesel, but without the smell of the refinery on your hands.
So what?
In short: BMW is preparing its first hydrogen car, and all indications are that it will be based on the next generation of the X5. Like the gasoline, diesel and plug-in hybrid versions, this model will use the CLAR platform (because it allows the brand to maintain a flexible architecture for different types of propulsion).
In addition, some reports suggest that BMW could launch a completely battery-electric version, taking advantage of the same base as the new X5. Production is expected to begin in the second half of 2026, and, if the rumours are true, the range of the next X5 will include 100% electric options from day one.
A marriage of convenience
It’s not that Toyota and BMW have become best friends now, but they have been collaborating for years to lead an automotive sector that has a lot of competition, and now, this union could be a bomb for their competitors. As we said, it won’t be a Toyota with another logo, but they expect everything to be new and special.
For its part, BMW has already flirted with hydrogen in the past. In 1979, it launched a 520h with a combustion engine adapted to hydrogen. Then, in the 2000s, it dared to use a hydrogen V12 in the E38 and E65 (spoiler: it didn’t work out too well). Now, with fuel cells, efficiency is much higher and it seems that BMW believes that the moment of truth has arrived. What will happen from now on? Wait for it.
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