The current G05 generation BMW X5 is struggling to repeat the success of its F15 generation predecessor, due to its significantly higher starting price and stronger competition from the Lexus RX.

The all-new fifth generation Lexus RX was launched in Malaysia in May 2023 and since then, sales of the BMW X5 have dropped by nearly 70%.

Sales of the BMW X5 nameplate peaked in 2017, with 3,133 units of the F15 generation sold that year. In comparison, the G05 generation model, launched in June 2020, peaked in 2021 with just 904 units, 71% lower than the F15 generation’s high point.

When the locally assembled G05 generation BMW X5 switched from a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder engine to a 3.0-litre 6-cylinder engine, it was pushed into a significantly higher excise tax bracket, thus explaining the jump in prices, from RM 388,800 in 2016 to RM 528,100 today. That’s well into the territory of imported Japan-made Lexus SUVs.

After Lexus Malaysia launched the new RX in May 2023, sales of the X5 eroded further in the subsequent months. In the months after the Lexus RX’s launch, the X5’s average monthly sales dropped by 70% and have not recovered since then.

BMW Malaysia gave the X5 a mid-lifecycle facelift in January 2024. It was supposed to boost the X5’s appeal. It didn’t. Cumulative sales from January to July 2024 totaled just 369 units, down 64% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, Lexus Malaysia’s total sales of the RX for this year is 1,162 units, as of August 2024.

The Lexus RX is priced from RM 468,888, for the front-wheel drive RX 350 with a 2.4-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. The more expensive RX 500h with a hybrid version of the same engine plus Direct4 all-wheel drive, starts at just RM 508,888.

Curiously, it is the more expensive RX 500h that is the more popular variant, contributing more than 60 percent of total RX sales in Malaysia. This suggests that Lexus RX buyers are willing to pay a premium for hybrid technology.

Judging from the X5 PHEV’s dominant position in the mid-size luxury SUV segment for most of the late 2010s, it can be inferred that Lexus RX buyers are well educated on the X5’s plug-in hybrid technology, but they now want to approach electrification with the better reliability reputation Lexus hybrid.

Also, keep in mind that a large number of BMW sales in Malaysia are driven by discounted, pre-registered units declared as ‘ex-demo units’. The average transaction prices of the X5 are likely to be lower than the Lexus RX as Lexus Malaysia doesn’t inflate their sales figures with pre-registered cars. This makes the RX’s lead over the X5 to be even more impressive.

Still, the Lexus RX is not a perfect car (does a perfect car exist?). It has its share of shortcomings. Find out more in our review of the Lexus RX 500h.