How quick?! BMW iX5 hits a whopping 464kW fast-charging speed ahead of 2027 launch

News

BMW's 800V architecture continues to impress, as the electric iX5 pulls a faster charging speed than originally expected.

GE

George East

22 October 2026 · 2 min read

The BMW iX5 recorded a charging speed of 464kW at a live public event in California, exceeding the German manufacturer’s originally quoted 460 kW figure.

Like the heavily revised BMW i7, the new iX5 is built around BMW’s sixth-generation (Gen6) 800V eDrive system, which offers 30% more driving range and 30% faster charging than the previous Gen5 system.

Gen6 eDrive also introduces new, more efficient motors, along with cylindrical cell batteries providing 20% greater energy density than Gen5’s prismatic cells.

BMW says that these underpinnings give the iX5 xDrive60 a peak charging speed of 460 kW. This means the first-ever all-electric version of Munich’s luxury SUV can add up to 170 miles of range to its 144kWh battery in just 10 minutes. A 10%-80% charge takes 22 minutes.

Yet at a BMW event in California, where DC charging specialists Alpitronic supplied the fast-charging hardware and United States public charging firm IONNA provided the charger, the iX5 hit a peak charging speed of 464kW, four more kilowatts than what BMW originally stated. During the charging session, the vehicle sustained an average charging speed of 280kW.

In the UK, the fastest public chargers range from 350kW to 400kW depending on supplier.

The BMW iX5 will go on sale here in spring 2027, where it will become the fifth member of BMW’s all-electric ‘Neue Klasse’ family alongside the i3 and i7 saloons, and the iX3 and iX4 SUVs. Pricing for the new iX5 starts at £85,375 for the entry-level model, which has a 503-mile range.

Other models in the iX5 family include the mid-range M Sport and M Sport Pro priced from £85,885 and £88,085 respectively. Meanwhile, the performance-focused iX5 M sits at the top of the range with a £101,775 starting price.

For now, all iX5s come with BMW’s all-wheel-drive (AWD) system and the 144kWh battery. More affordable rear-wheel-drive (RWD) cars with smaller batteries are expected to join the fold at a later date. Unlike the other Neue Klasse models, which are built at various BMW factories in Germany and Hungary, the iX5 is built at BMW’s Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, USA.