BMW to preview next 7 Series with concept at Munich show

BMW will preview the shape and key design elements of the next-generation 7 Series in a concept vehicle to be displayed at the Munich auto show in September, a company source told Automotive News Europe.

The concept will be the first BMW Group vehicle to be based on the Neue Klasse, German for New Class, architecture, which is designed to be primarily full-electric but can also accommodate diesel or gasoline engines, including plug-in hybrids.

The highly flexible and scalable platform is designed to allow more aerodynamic designs -- important for electric vehicle range -- with different proportions and more spacious interiors. It will be used for all new models in the group’s range, from BMWs to Rolls-Royces, starting in 2025.

The architecture will offer rear-wheel drive as standard, with the option to add an electric motor to the front axle to make vehicles underpinned by the platform all-wheel drive.

The BMW Group source did not offer more details about the concept to be displayed at the IAA Mobility show in Munich, which opens to the press on Sept. 6 and the public on Sept. 7. 

The 7 Series has been the BMW brand’s flagship sedan since the first generation debuted in the late 1970s. The current generation, which debuted in 2015, ranked second in the upper premium segment in Europe in 2020, with 6,348 sales, finishing behind the full-electric Porsche Taycan, with 12,017 sales, and ahead of the Audi A7 (5,787 sales) and the full-electric Model S (5,605 sales), according to data from JATO Dynamics. 

The 7 Series topped its traditional sedan rivals, the Mercedes S Class (5,360 sales) and the Audi A8 (3,633 sales).  

Mercedes introduced a new generation of the S-Class last year and this year unveiled the EQS, an S-Class sized full-electric flagship model.

The New Class architecture will be the central pillar in BMW's plan to have full-electric models account for at least 50 percent of global deliveries by 2030, with all its model series offering a battery-power option. "By 2030, we will reduce our carbon footprint per vehicle by at least a third from 2019 levels," CEO Oliver Zipse said earlier this year.

"The Neue Klasse will bring a variety of very different and surprising vehicles," Zipse said. "It represents a decisive step in the transformation of your company and includes a new vehicle architecture that is uncompromisingly tailored to electric drivetrains."

Over time, the New Class will replace BMW's current two architectures: the smaller UKL (front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive) platform used for BMW compact cars and by larger Minis, and the larger CLAR (rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive), used for the rest of the BMW range. 

The UKL and CLAR architectures were originally developed for combustion engines, including plug-in hybrid cars. They were given a substantial overhaul with a new central floor to accommodate batteries for full-electric and plug-in hybrid options.

The CLAR platform was revised last year with the introduction of the iX3 midsize full-electric SUV. The coming i4 midsize electric sedan and iX flagship electric SUV, both due this year, use this platform. Full-electric versions of the 5 Series and 7 Series will follow in the next few years before the New Class platform is rolled out.