The electric vehicle (EV) will launch globally alongside the petrol and diesel versions of the 2023 BMW 7 Series in the last quarter of 2022. The i7 will be the company’s fifth fully-electric car in South Africa, following the i3 hatchback, iX and iX3 SUVs, and i4 M50 sports car.

The sedan boasts twin electric motors with an all-wheel drive system that can produce 536 horsepower, accelerating from 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds. The top speed is electronically limited to 240km/h. The i7’s battery pack features 101.7kWh of useable capacity, offering roughly 480km of range on the EPA cycle. For quick charging at a DC public charging station, the i7’s pack supports up to 195kW charging, while slower AC charging can go up to 11kW.

These figures will likely not matter to most of the vehicle’s owners, as they won’t necessarily be driving it. At its price point, the 7 Series is geared towards affluent people who may plan to be driven around by a chauffeur, which means that interior comfort and features are of paramount importance. To start, the new 7 Series is 131mm longer than the outgoing model, offering more interior space and generous head- and legroom. One of the i7’s standout interior features is a fold-down 31.3-inch BMW Theatre Screen for passengers in the rear. BMW said the rear bench’s “Executive Lounge” configuration offers an optimised reclining seat position and new BMW Individual Merino leather/cashmere wool interior trim. The driver and front passenger also get a large curved display and interactive bar running BMW Operating System 8.

In South Africa, pricing for the BMW i7 xDrive60 will start at R2.825 million, while the M Sport Package and M Sport Package Pro will set you back R2.9 million or R2.94 million. The table below shows indicative pricing for the models launching in South Africa, including VAT and excluding carbon tax.