Southern Network News (Reporter/Xu Fanghua) On April 20, the new BMW 7 Series and BMW i7 were launched worldwide. Among them, the i7 is the flagship model of the BMW Group's pure electric product lineup. So far, the BMW Group has provided five pure electric products for the Chinese market. The new 7 Series and i7 are based on the upgraded next-generation CLAR architecture, and the new cars will be available worldwide in November, with fuel and pure electric models in the first stage, and plug-in hybrid models in 2023.
The design is inspired by China
In terms of appearance, the large-size grille of the new 7 Series is still conspicuous, and the LED light source embedded in the grille can light up and enhance the sense of ceremony. What is more eye-catching is the split headlight design on both sides, the upper part is a double L-type LED daytime running light, and the lower part is a near and far integrated laser headlight. In addition, the under-walling of the fuel version and the pure electric version of the model is also different, and it looks more sporty. In addition, the fuel version is basically the same as the overall rear of the pure electric version of the model, but the exhaust layout or blue and white decoration at the rear surround can be distinguished.
The new 7 Series is 5391/1950/1548mm in length, width and height, and wheelbase is 3215mm, which is comprehensively improved compared with the current model in all aspects, especially the length increased by 118mm, and the width and height are also increased by about 50mm.
For the first time, the new car offers a leather/cashmere combination interior, creating an elegant, warm and happy cockpit atmosphere. The seats have been completely upgraded, with back adjustments up to 42.5 and integrated leg rests, while the new car can also choose BMW's personalised Merino extended leather, combining look, feel and experience.
The new BMW 7 Series rear roof is equipped with a 31-inch through-screen officially known as the "BMW Cinema Screen", which has 8K resolution and offers 5G networking and a width of nearly 1m, and will be equipped with a high-definition webcam with a built-in 128G hard drive, Bluetooth headset and touch remote control. When not in use, you can choose to fold and hide, connect with the rear sunroof, and the screen can also support 16:9, 21:9 and other formats.
In terms of power, the new BMW 7 Series is available in fuel versions, all-electric and plug-in hybrids to meet the diverse choices of customers. The fuel version will provide an optimized 3.0T inline six-cylinder turbocharged engine and a new V8 engine, the 3.0T engine is tuned for low and high power, with a maximum power of 286/380Ps, and a maximum power of 544Ps for the 4.4T engine.
The plug-in hybrid version of the 750 xDrive and M760e xDrive have a maximum power of 490Ps and 571Ps respectively; the pure electric version has a maximum power of 544Ps, a maximum torque of 745N·m, a 0-100km/h acceleration of only 4.7s, and a WLTP cruising range of 625km. In addition, the new 7 Series offers L2 level driver assistance functions and can support L3 level automatic driving functions in the future.
At the end of last year, the BMW Group upgraded its corporate strategy with the theme of "Home in China" and said it would give priority to the needs of the Chinese market in new product development. According to Gao Le, President and CEO of the BMW Group greater China, the new BMW 7 Series has fully considered the expectations of Chinese customers from the product concept stage. "The new 7 Series was developed in Germany, while the design was inspired by China. China is not only the world's largest market for the 7 Series, but also a leader in future automotive design trends. We believe that today's China's movements will lead the world's direction tomorrow. ”
Pure electricity sales increased 3 times in the first quarter
According to the latest data released by the BMW Group, in the first quarter of this year, the bmw group's cumulative sales in the Chinese market were about 208,500 vehicles, of which the sales of pure electric vehicles reached 3 times that of the same period last year. This year, BMW will supply 5 pure electric vehicles in the Chinese market. These include the new BMW i3, which was launched in March, and this time the BMW i7, and the other three models are BMW iX, BMW i4, and BMW iX3.
"Electrification is one of the bmw group's top priorities. In 2022, the Group plans to double its global sales of pure electric vehicles compared to 2021. Our first-quarter performance in the Chinese market laid a good foundation for achieving this goal. With the combined efforts of our dealer partners, we will further accelerate the pace of electric power in the coming months. Gao Le said.
According to the plan, by the end of 2025, the BMW Group plans to deliver a total of 2 million pure electric vehicles. At that time, a quarter of the BMW Group's sales in the Chinese market will be pure electric vehicles; the "new generation" model based on the new structure will begin trial production in 2024 and be unveiled in 2025, equipped with the sixth generation of eDrive electric drive system; by 2030, the BMW Group aims to deliver about 10 million pure electric vehicles worldwide.
i brand is not "oil to electricity"
The release of the BMW i7 is also seen as a response to the Mercedes-Benz EQS, but it is worth noting that the i7 is not based on a pure electric platform, but is commonly used in gasoline vehicles, PHEV, and pure electric car CLAR platform, and EQS is from Mercedes-Benz's new pure electric EVA platform.
CLAR is not a pure electric platform, but it is not fair to call i7 "oil to electricity" in this regard. When BMW launched the CLAR platform in 2017, it was defined as encompassing "every drive method that the user is interested in", including gasoline, plug-in hybrid, pure electricity, which is a highly flexible platform.
The emergence of CLAR has indeed quickly filled the product gap in bmw's pure electric camp. Since 2018, i4, iX, iX3, i3, i7, at an average rate of more than 1 car per year, have allowed BMW to have corresponding models in almost every main range. And, CLAR didn't drag down the i brand. Taking the i4 that has been listed as an example, the M50 with positioning performance is priced at 539,900 yuan, equipped with 400kW front and rear dual motors, and runs a 560km CLTC battery with an 84kWh battery.
That is to say, the quality of the three electrics of the i brand has not been left behind. The i7 released last night is in line with the shape of the current high-end intelligent electric vehicle, including the Endurance of more than 600 kilometers of the European Standard, the official 100-kilometer acceleration of no more than 5 seconds, the assisted driving of the L2+ level, and the extremely luxurious and intelligent interior layout.
Under the blessing of CLAR, the BMW i brand is not only fast in product layout, the performance in the market is also the best in BBA, and there is a point that cannot be ignored, the CLAR platform was launched 5 years ago, and has taken into account the compatibility of electrification, which saves a large amount of money from scratch to create a new pure electric platform, and consumers' cognition of BMW pure electric products also has continuity, and each i product corresponds to BMW's fuel model.