July 11 heralds arrival of new BMW 7 Series

By CARSIFU | 11 July 2019


UPDATEMalaysians are being offered the 740Le, which is really the six-cylinder 745Le sold elsewhere. It's locally assembled, with price unchanged at RM594,800. The 7 Series launch event was beefed up with the announcement that the X7 SUV would be available from September. The CBU model is priced at RM888,800.



PETALING JAYA: Today sees the launch and pricing announcement of the refreshed BMW 7 Series in Malaysia.

The long wheelbase G12 7 Series will introduce more than just a few cosmetic changes in its midlife refresh.

BMW Group Malaysia began selling the sixth-generation 7 Series in Malaysia at the start of 2016, where it introduced the 730Li and the 740Li. The 740Le plug-in hybrid (PHEV) came along in April 2017 and eventually replaced the 730Li and 740Li.

The locally assembled PHEV was priced at RM598,800 at launch but the price had dropped to RM594,800 lately.

Unlike the pre-facelift period, the latest changes to the model line-up sees BMW dropping the 4-cylinder engines in favour of 3.0-litre 6-cylinder petrol and diesel engines as the base powerplants.

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The 6-cylinder petrol mill is mated to an electric motor in the 745Le, which an insider said would retained the 740Le naming convention for tax purposes.

Upping the power stakes are the 4.4l V8 750i/750Li and 6.6l V12 M760Li. All engines are turbocharged and linked to an 8-speed automatic transmission.

With Malaysia being a key market for hybrids in Asean, BMW is keen to expand on the momentum amid an industry-wide move towards electrified cars.

Going by the marketing pattern of the local BMW distributor, today is likely to see the entry of the 745Le, whereas the 750Li and M760Li are plainly niche products whose pricing would reflect that.

The M Sport package, Design Pure Excellence line and new additions to the selection of exterior paint finishes and light-alloy wheels provide fresh scope for individualisation.

CarSifu has driven the 745Le PHEV and the 750Li in southern Portugal earlier this year and will post up the first drive report very soon.

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