BMW builds cars at three different types of factories worldwide. The manufacturing backbone consists of the wholly owned plants we’re all familiar with. From Dingolfing to Spartanburg and from San Luis Potosi to Rosslyn, you can probably name them all. Then there are contract manufacturers, where production is outsourced, such as the Z4 assembled by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria.
Finally, there are partner plants, operated by BMW in collaboration with a local company. The Kulim site in Malaysia has been in operation since 2008 and has just begun producing EVs. Leading the charge (pun intended) is the i5 eDrive40, offered with a standard M Sport Pro package. The fully electric 5 Series sedan is assembled from a completely knocked-down (CKD) kit.
By localizing assembly, BMW Malaysia has significantly reduced the asking price compared to the previously imported i5 eDrive40 M Sport. Buyers are now paying about RM32,000 less than before, which at current exchange rates works out to nearly $8,000. Consequently, the large electric sedan now starts at RM368,800, or roughly $91,000.
Beyond the more attainable sticker price, the locally assembled cars trade the satin grille for black kidney grilles while retaining the illuminated contour. The darker accents extend to the trunk-lid spoiler and taillights. Another subtle change is the adoption of blue M Sport brake calipers, visible behind the 20-inch 939 M wheels.
Elsewhere, the panoramic glass roof makes a comeback on the Malaysian-market i5, but the ventilated seats do not. Additionally, the crystal-like effects for some of the switchgear have not returned with the locally assembled version. BMW has also made changes inside, where a dark carbon-fiber trim now adorns the dashboard. The Merino leather seats are always finished in Atlas Grey.
Beyond Malaysia, BMW also builds the electric sedan in China, where it assembles a long-wheelbase (G68) derivative at the Dadong plant. The firm’s Chennai factory in India is expected to assemble the stretched i5 for the local market. The globally available G60 is due for a mid-cycle facelift in 2027, when it will receive an evolutionary styling update along with the iDrive X interface inside.
