At the recent 98th annual general meeting, BMW boss Harald Krüger confirmed the new X5 will be the company's fourth X model to be unveiled this year, following on from the X2, new X3 and X4. That means buyers won't have too long to wait for the new X5.
As well as being an important model in the brand's portfolio, the new X5 will also be a big deal due to being the first BMW to feature the company's latest iDrive infotainment system. The current iDrive is already regarded as being one of the best in the industry, and this updated version called BMW Operating System 7.0 will also be featuring in the upcoming new 3 Series saloon and the new flagship X7 SUV.
It remains to be seen how revolutionary the new incarnation of the infotainment system turns out to be, but the first official images of the new X5 confirm an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary design that takes few risks.
That said, the current X5 that's been around since 2013 still uses the same architecture as the second-gen model that was introduced as long ago as 2006, so the biggest change with this fourth-generation will be the use of a new platform.
As well as a new weight-saving platform shared with the 5 Series sedan, the 2019 X5 will also incorporate the sedan's digital dials, wireless Apple CarPlay, semi-autonomous driving features and a number of styling cues.
The X5 may not be the biggest-selling SUV in the company's range as that title inevitably belongs to the entry-level X1. But the X5 is still a very important model with global sales up by 8.8 percent in 2017 over the previous year, which means it now represents 8.7 percent of the company's total sales.
