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A new set of patents for the BMW 5-Series Touring (G61) has been unveiled online. The car will be officially unveiled at the end of 2023 or early 2024 and is expected to go on sale in the spring of 2024. It is understood that the new BMW 5 series station wagon family, in addition to the fuel version, plug-in version, but also includes BMW i5 Touring (G61 BEV), M5 Touring (G99).

From the patent map, there is almost no difference between the front face design of the travel version and the car version, with a circular glowing grille with round dart daytime driving lights, and the new style daytime driving lights are arranged vertically. The four raised lines on the front engine hatch make the front look more sporty. According to previous spy photos, the BMW M5 Touring will add a lot of aerodynamic design to the regular version, surrounded by a typical M style.

The side of the body, the travel version has some changes compared with the car version, and the side of the car also uses a semi-hidden door handle flush with the door, but the profile of the taillight is slightly different from that of the car, but somewhat similar to the G21 BMW 3-series travel version. Of course, the BMW M5 Touring side skirt, rear spoiler and other sports equipment will not be absent. In the rear part, the shape of the redesigned taillight is more recognizable, and the chrome-plated decoration surrounded by tusks is also transplanted from the car to the travel version, and the rear exhaust may also adopt a hidden layout.

In terms of interior, the Touring version is expected to be consistent with the car version, with a 12.3-inch dashboard and 14.9-inch central control screen curved design, and a significant reduction in the number of physical buttons in the car, touch-type air-conditioning buttons and flat-bottomed steering wheel design make the car more technological.

In terms of power, the new BMW 5-Series fuel version is equipped with 2.0T and 3.0T engines, covering 520i, 530i xDrive and 540i xDrive models, as well as 520d and 520d xDrive diesel models. Plug-in hybrid version 530e with 2.0T engine + motor, 550e xDrive with 3.0T engine + motor combination. The BMW i5 uses the upgraded fifth-generation eDrive electric drive system, and the new BMW M5 is expected to carry a plug-in hybrid system consisting of a 4.4-liter V8 twin-turbocharged engine and motor.

Station wagons are particularly popular in the European market and have a high market position, which has something to do with their way of life and cultural development, but station wagons are always difficult to be recognized in the Chinese market. Looking back at the history of China's automobile development, many station wagons have been introduced into the Chinese market, from the earliest Peugeot 505 SW8, Santana Variant, Haima Wagon, to Sail SRV, Mazda 6 Wagon, Volkswagen, etc., station wagons with the same structure have no advantage in competing with SUV, such as driving experience and space feeling. In other words, Chinese consumers are more willing to buy SUV than station wagons.

On the whole, most station wagons are relatively expensive. For example, the Audi A4 AVANT (imported) instruction price starts at 359800 yuan, which is 38000 yuan higher than that of the Audi A4. Previously, Mercedes-Benz C-Class Travel and BMW 3-Series Travel also announced their withdrawal from the Chinese market because of poor sales. Even Audi, which still has a line of station wagons, the Avant/Allroad of A4 and A6, together, sold only about 300 vehicles a month.

At present, the eighth generation BMW 5-series long wheelbase version (code G68) and BMW i5 (code G60 BEV) have been declared by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and are expected to be listed as soon as this year. Due to the high price of luxury brand station wagons and low sales in the domestic market, the BMW 5-series travel version is not sold in China, and the new generation of BMW 5-series travel version is not expected to be introduced into domestic sales.

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