BMW i7 60 xDrive: Gen6 cells, 727 km WLTP and much faster DC charging

BMW has kicked off series production of the facelifted 7 Series at its Dingolfing plant. The company calls this update the most extensive in the model’s history. That sounds like standard marketing talk, but this time there is real substance behind it: Neue Klasse technology is being ported into an existing flagship on this scale for the first time.

The sedan gets a new electrical and software architecture, BMW Panoramic iDrive, a Passenger Screen and an updated Theatre Screen for rear passengers. In other words, the 7 Series is once again playing its familiar game: the driver formally matters, but the priciest emotions are sold to whoever is sitting in the back. There is also a new BMW Symbiotic Drive system, designed to make interaction between the driver and assistants feel more natural. What buyers actually want is simpler: a car that helps but doesn’t argue with them on every maneuver.

For the electric i7 the battery matters more than anything else. The BMW i7 60 xDrive gets sixth-generation cylindrical cells, a WLTP range of 608–727 km and a 10–80% DC charge in around 28 minutes. Consumption is quoted at 18.2–21.9 kWh per 100 km. For an executive sedan those are strong numbers: a heavy car with a big cabin finally stops looking like an EV built “only for city runs and hotel transfers.”

Personalization is its own story. BMW offers more than 500 body colors and color combinations, plus around 700 material and equipment combinations for the interior. That is no longer a configurator — it’s almost a negotiation with the customer. Especially with the new two-finish paintwork technology, which puts matte and gloss surfaces on the same body. Development took two and a half years, and each car requires more than 4,500 minutes of work, including roughly 2,000 minutes done by hand. Very slow. Very expensive. And exactly why it fits the 7 Series.

Production isn’t exactly ordinary either. The new 7 Series is assembled in Assembly Hall 52 on the same line as the BMW 5 Series and iX, with petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and fully electric versions running in a flexible mix. That multi-drivetrain logic is close to religion for BMW right now: don’t bet on one scenario for the future, keep all options open. Some markets are ready for EVs, others still buy diesel for long trips. Wealthy customers, generally, don’t like being told “you no longer have a choice.”

The plant uses AI-driven quality checks, automated inspection, optical leather inspection, digital cutting tools and even a 3D sewing robot for the cockpit trim. Even so, every single 7 Series still goes through an additional road test. That is a good detail. In the premium segment AI may spot a stitching defect, but a squeak, a vibration or an awkward pause in an assistant’s response is still something a human catches faster.

Compared with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Audi A8, Lexus LS and the electric Lucid Air or Mercedes EQS, the new 7 Series bets not only on status but on a blend of theatre and engineering. The S-Class is traditionally stronger as the benchmark executive sedan, the EQS wins on aerodynamics and range, the Lexus on calm ownership. BMW answers with a tech-heavy cabin, a wide drivetrain lineup and the option to build a near-bespoke car without going to a coachbuilder.

The new 7 Series isn’t trying to be modest. It honestly shows where luxury is going: more screens, more handwork, more battery and more options for anyone who doesn’t want to choose between old mechanical confidence and new digital opulence.