Yesterday (April 20), BMW Group's BMW brand new BMW 7 Series, new BMW X7 and innovative BMW i7 debuted in Beijing, the three new cars will be BMW's driving pleasure, subversive design language, respect for luxury and emotional digital technology perfectly integrated, for BMW in the large luxury car segment to upgrade the "ammunition library".
The innovative BMW i7 unveiled this time expands the BMW Group's pure electric lineup to the large luxury car segment, helping it to have a new round of "fighting". After all, there are Mercedes-Benz's pure electric large luxury sedan EQS and pure electric luxury EQS SUV, and then there is the Audi pure electric luxury concept car "sphere trilogy", and the appearance of the innovative BMW i7 shows that the high-end electric vehicle segment has been surging in the market, and the future competition will be more intense.
Yesterday (April 20), BMW Group's BMW brand new BMW 7 Series, new BMW X7 and innovative BMW i7 debuted in Beijing, the three new cars will be BMW's driving pleasure, subversive design language, respect for luxury and emotional digital technology perfectly integrated, for BMW in the large luxury car segment to upgrade the "ammunition library".
Source: Screenshots of the live stream
Specifically, the new BMW 7 Series is 5391 mm long, 1950 mm wide and 1548 mm high, with an oversized body that reinforces the grandeur, solemnity and elegance of the leader temperament; the ultra-long wheelbase of 3215 mm also lays the foundation for a large and comfortable space. Exteriorly, the new BMW 7 Series headlights feature a split design with dazzling crystal daytime running lights and a smooth body contour line that runs from the high front to the rear, outlining a sporty and elegant body posture.
New BMW 7 Series Source: Live Screenshots
In the smart cockpit, the integrated floating curved screen in the front row combines the 12.3-inch instrument cluster with the 14.9-inch touch-sensitive center display, thanks to the new BMW iDrive and BMW operating system 8.0, and the L2 advanced driver assistance functions, which technically have the possibility of L3 automatic driving, so the data computing power and image processing capabilities of the new BMW 7 Series have been greatly improved. At the same time, the number of physical buttons in the whole vehicle has been greatly reduced, the sense of minimalist technology has been enhanced, and the panoramic star track sky screen has also created a more spacious, modern and comfortable interior space.
In addition, the new BMW X7, which has been remodeled in the medium term, is also more imposing and has more athletic performance, shaping the benchmark of the market segment.
New BMW X7 Source: Live Screenshots
As the flagship of BMW's pure electric lineup, the innovative BMW i7 is even more highly anticipated, and it is of great significance in its electrification transformation. The car is BMW's fifth pure electric model to launch in the Chinese market, BMW Group Chairman Chiptzer said: "The innovative BMW i7 is the strongest 7 series, the latest example of BMW's determined electrification transformation. ”
Chiptzer, chairman of the BMW Group Source: Courtesy of the company
What is the "Strongest 7 Series"? According to the official introduction, BMW i7 is equipped with BMW's fifth-generation electric drive system, using advanced computing platform and intelligent equipment, which has the possibility of L3 automatic driving in technology; the cockpit provides customers with a very stylish Merino leather/cashmere combination interior, surround interactive light belt, suspension giant screen and glittering panoramic star orbit sky curtain, highlighting the breakthrough design concept everywhere; in terms of power endurance, BMW i7 is equipped with dual motors and has a cruising range of more than 600 kilometers.
Innovative BMW i7 (first from right) Source: Screenshot of live streaming
At present, BMW has listed BMW iX3, iX, i3, i4 in China. Last month, the launch of the new BMW i3 set a benchmark for the market segment with twenty high-value standards. Not only that, according to BMW's latest planning, this year, its mass production and trial production of pure electric vehicle models will reach as many as 15 models, covering about 90% of the market segment.
Innovative BMW i7 interior Source: Courtesy of the company
The innovative BMW i7 unveiled this time is to expand BMW's pure electric lineup to the large luxury car segment and help it have a new round of "fighting". In the front, there is Mercedes-Benz's pure electric large luxury car EQS and pure electric luxury EQS SUV, and then there is the Audi pure electric luxury concept car "sphere trilogy", and the appearance of the innovative BMW i7 shows that the high-end electric vehicle segment has been surging and the future competition will be more intense.
Such a competitive environment for BMW is like a boat against the current, if it does not advance, it will retreat, and only by accelerating the pace of electrification can it continue to gain a dominant position in the future. At present, BMW's electrification transformation is still in the second stage, which has both an attempt to electrify the original platform and an exploration of an independent platform, and in 2025, BMW will launch a new NCAR architecture, when the "new generation" model produced based on the new structure will lead BMW into the third stage of electrification transformation (2025-2030).
At the same time, in the process of electrification transformation, BMW is constantly strengthening its position in the Chinese market, and at the end of last year, it announced the upgrading of its China strategy with the theme of "Home in China", maintaining synergy between the corporate strategy and China's development goals, adhering to the principle of "China first" and giving priority to the needs of the Chinese market in new product development.
Gao Le, President and CEO of the BMW Group Greater China Source: Screenshot of the live broadcast
This is evident in the launch of the new BMW 7 Series, with Gao Le, President and CEO of the BMW Group greater China, saying: "The new BMW 7 Series was developed in Germany, but the design was inspired by China. China is not only the world's largest market for the BMW 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. ”
This is even more obvious at a time when the wave of electrification is sweeping the world, according to the international analyst agency Canalys, global electric vehicle sales in 2021 will be 6.5 million, of which Chinese mainland reach 3.2 million, accounting for almost 50% of the global electric vehicle market. Therefore, BMW constantly emphasizes the need to adhere to the principle of "China first" in order to further achieve rapid development in China. In the first quarter of this year, under the challenges of chip shortages, rising raw material prices and tight parts, BMW still achieved a record of 208,500 vehicles, continuing to lead the BBA camp, of which the sales of pure electric vehicles reached three times that of the same period last year.
Since entering the Chinese market in 1994, BMW has continued to invest in China, and the scale of production and sales and product lineup have been expanding. In particular, the total investment in the Shenyang production base has exceeded 83 billion yuan since 2010, reflecting the strategic thinking of "home in China, rooted in China", which will further help BMW to complete the goal of delivering 2 million pure electric vehicles in 2025 and the cumulative sales of pure electric vehicles in 2030. (China Economic Network reporter Chen Mengyu)