Police M5 Touring and an electric fire car: BMW says help should be fast

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BMW brought several emergency-service cars to RETTmobil 2026 in Fulda at once — from the electric iX3 in fire department livery to a police M5 Touring. The show turned out to be less about flashy lights and more about the question of which cars can actually pull a full shift without compromise.

The headline new model is the BMW iX3 of the Neue Klasse generation in a fire department version. The crossover is rated for 805 km of WLTP range. For a private owner that is just a nice marketing figure, but for firefighters, paramedics or the police it removes the biggest fear about going electric. A car that runs out of charge in the middle of a shift here is not just inconvenient — it is dangerous.

The most spectacular exhibit is the BMW M5 Touring G99 in police trim. The estate carries a 4.4-litre V8 biturbo with a hybrid system: 727 hp and 1,000 Nm. On electric power alone it manages a little over 60 km. For a pursuit car the package looks convincing, but for routine patrol work it is more of an expensive showcase of what BMW can build.

The more down-to-earth option is the BMW 520d Touring G61. It has a 2.0-litre diesel, an estate body and the kind of practicality emergency services need every day. It costs less than half what an M5 does, while keeping the spacious load bay and sensible running costs. Cars like this are what actually ends up in fleet orders.

BMW is showing three approaches at once: the electric iX3 for urban and regional callouts, the M5 Touring as a demonstration of the maximum, and the 520d Touring as the workhorse. In the end, the most important car on the stand is not the most powerful one, but the one that can finish a shift without the question «where do I charge».