You can tell China remains a hugely important market for BMW by the impressive number of company higher-ups attending the 2026 Beijing Auto Show. CEO Oliver Zipse and Head of Design Adrian van Hooydonk took turns on stage a few hours ago during the event’s first press day to present the 7 Series facelift. Joining them were R&D boss Joachim Post and sales chief Jochen Goller.
Even though BMW Group (including MINI) sales in China have fallen from a peak of nearly 850,000 vehicles in 2021 to almost 630,000 units last year, it’s still the company’s largest market. China accounted for 25.4% of total shipments last year, more than double Germany’s 11.7% and significantly higher than the United States at 17%.
Although global demand for sedans continues to fade following the meteoric rise of crossovers and SUVs, the traditional body style remains a lucrative segment in China. That makes the 7 Series all the more important for BMW, and now the LCI carries the torch for the G70 into the second half of its life cycle. The six-cylinder 740 appeared on stage ahead of its launch next year, when it will be joined by the purely electric i7. The latter is estimated to deliver nearly 800 kilometers (497 miles) of range in the CLTC cycle.
While the “L” badge at the back typically denotes a long-wheelbase version for BMW models sold in China, that is not the case for the 7 Series. It has the same dimensions as the global model, but the “L” aligns the flagship with the brand’s other stretched sedans and SUVs. Speaking of which, the elongated i3 and iX3 also made their official debuts today, alongside an iX3 Flow concept with an animated hood featuring E Ink technology.
Although two-tone finishes like this one have been available for the G70 since the very beginning, the facelifted luxobarge brings something new. For the first time, the 7 Series can be ordered with an Individual Dual-Finish option, where the lower part of the body has a matte effect while the upper section is metallic. The two sections are separated by a hand-painted coachline, and the entire process takes more than 75 hours and over 20 employees to complete the 12-stage paintwork.
Although the 7 Series for China looks the same as the global model, its driver assistance system is exclusive to the local market and was co-developed with Momenta. Additionally, BMW claims that more than 50 digital functions developed with local partners such as Alibaba, DeepSeek, Amap, and Huawei have been tailor-made for Chinese customers.
First published by https://www.bmwblog.com
