The sports activity vehicles – or the X series for those who understand English – from BMW have an extremely long shelf life.
The German luxury automaker has been launching new versions of the X models once every 5 to 7 years. If in line with this trend, BMW X5 would not be ready for a major update until 2019 or even 2020. This may not be the case, as BMW had just been caught testing the BMW X5, which came out only in 2014. The quick revamp of the hugely popular SUV from BMW is the need for a more modern set up in order to take on the challenge from the Audi Q7 and Mercedes GLS.
Since their rivals have been positioning the vehicles as seven-seater luxury SUVs, BMW has been unable to cope with the competition. The latest generation BMW X5 does offer the opportunity to go for seven seats by sacrificing the trunk area. However, the third row of seats do not offer the same kind of luxury as in an Audi Q7 or Mercedes Benz GLS largely because of the chassis limitations. BMW simply did not have the space to put in the third row of seats in a more luxurious manner.
One of the reasons for the current generation BMW X5 struggling in this area is because it shares the underpinnings of the model that came out in 2007. Back then, BMW were the only major competitor in this segment apart from the Audi Q7. The recent arrival of the Mercedes Benz GLS and the Jaguar F-Pace has completely altered the scenario. The current generation BMW X5 was largely an improvement in terms of technology.
The 2018 BMW X5 will be completely different, as it will have the same platform of the 2017 BMW 7-series and the recently launched a BMW 5-series. This would allow BMW to reduce costs quite aggressively while also managing to provide class leading space in the interior. Recent models from the company have started using carbon fiber to a great extent, and they have helped the company save more than 100 kg just in the case of the new BMW 5-series. One can expect the 2018 BMW X5 to be substantially lighter compared to the outgoing version.
BMW internally refers to the new platform as CLAR (Cluster Architecture). This platform is also expected to be seen on the upcoming BMW X3, which will come out next year.