BMW’s Beijing debut: new 7 Series, Rimac-powered i7, and a 900-km EV built for China

The facelifted 7 Series and i7 debut April 22, alongside the Neue Klasse iX3 Long Wheelbase built specifically for China.

Article Summary

• The 2027 BMW 7 Series and i7 make their global debut on April 22 in Beijing; the i7 gets an all-new battery co-developed with Rimac using Gen6 cylindrical cells, pushing charging well past the current 195 kW ceiling.
• The iX3 Long Wheelbase is the first long-wheelbase Neue Klasse SUV, built in Shenyang for the Chinese market with over 900 km of CLTC range and 400 kW peak DC charging that adds 400+ km in around ten minutes.
• BMW Group is showing 16 models total — BMW, MINI, and BMW Motorrad — with four global premieres and eight China debuts, part of a planned 20-model rollout in China for all of 2026.

BMW Group hasn’t left much to the imagination heading into Auto China 2026. Sixteen new models across BMW, MINI, and BMW Motorrad — four of them global premieres — will land at the Beijing show, which runs April 24 through May 3. The press previews happen on April 22, and that’s when the two biggest reveals go live: the facelifted 7 Series and the iX3 Long Wheelbase, a car that exists purely because of China.

The 7 Series facelift

Spy shots have been everywhere for months, so there’s no real mystery left here. The split headlights stay. The kidney grille stays, though the vertical lines give way to horizontal ones. Teasers show a smaller, squarer headlight shape that looks cleaner than the current car. Spy photos also show a full-width rear light bar and the iDrive X screens inside.

Powertrain-wise, expect the inline-six 740i, a V8 760i, and the plug-in hybrid 750e. The i7 is where it gets interesting. BMW has brought in Rimac — the Croatian company better known for building the Nevera hypercar — to develop a new battery pack using sixth-generation cylindrical cells. Energy density goes up around 20 percent over the current prismatic setup, and fast charging capability jumps noticeably from the 195 kW cap the current car has. Full specs come April 22.

The iX3 Long Wheelbase

This one has been a long time coming. The iX3 LWB is built on the Neue Klasse platform and was developed specifically for China — BMW says “in China, for China, and with China,” which has become something of a mantra for the brand’s local strategy. The wheelbase stretches to 3,005 mm, up 108 mm from the standard iX3, so rear passengers get genuinely useful extra space. The dual-motor setup — front asynchronous, rear excited synchronous — makes 345 kW (463 hp) and 645 Nm. Zero to 100 km/h takes 4.9 seconds.

The battery is a 108 kWh pack on an 800-volt architecture. BMW claims over 900 km of CLTC range, which is a Chinese testing cycle. Peak DC charging hits 400 kW, which BMW says adds over 400 km in about ten minutes. A 10-to-80 percent charge takes roughly 21 minutes.

Production starts at Shenyang in June with the 50L xDrive, followed by the 30L and 40L variants in September. It’ll eventually reach Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India as well, but China is the target.

The rest of the lineup

The 16 models include eight China debuts and four global premieres, with MINI and BMW Motorrad both bringing reveals of their own. MINI has a concept premiere in the mix, and BMW Motorrad is showing two new large-displacement motorcycles. It remains to be seen whether BMW will also give us a look at the BMW i3 long-wheelbase. BMW also confirmed earlier this year that China is getting a different version of the next-generation X5 — longer, more rear-seat focused — though that one isn’t expected in Beijing.

BMW delivered over 625,000 vehicles in China in 2025 and has said 20 new models are coming in 2026 total. Beijing kicks that off in a serious way, and the pressure is real — Chinese EV brands have been eating into the segment BMW used to own in that market.

[Source: Gasgoo]