When the BMW 528 was introduced in 1975, it was the flagship model of the BMW 5 Series E12. The automobile expanded the range of the smaller six-cylinder brother BMW 525 upwards with respect to the engine and equipment. The smooth-running, sporty engine fitted with a dual-barrel two-phase carburettor from Solex was also very economical to run owing to the particular arrangement of the combustion chamber. The BMW 528 was produced for the European market up until 1977 and it was then replaced by the BMW 528i. However, a BMW 528 fitted with a carburettor was still manufactured at the Rosslyn Plant in South Africa up until 1981.