BMW is planning to release a 7 Series Coupe, a move it hopes will help bring some excitement, and sales, to its range-topping luxury car.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the new coupe will arrive as soon as 2019 and it is only the first of several new variants coming to help boost the 7 Series lineup. BMW is mimicking Mercedes’ strategy with the S-Class, which is sold as a coupe, convertible and in the ultra-luxury Maybach version. Though a convertible from BMW wasn’t mentioned, the brand is also planning a Maybach competitor.
Audi is gearing up to release a new A8 flagship, further putting pressure on BMW to make sure its flagship car remains competitive. Four years ago, BMW 7 Series sales were on par with the S-Class, but sales have slid for BMW down to 40 percent below its chief rival.
A performance variant, the M760Li xDrive M Performance, was introduced for 2017 along with the 740e xDrive Plug-In Hybrid, both of which should begin to help boosting sales. Rumors of a full-on M7 sports car have been swirling for some time, but considering BMW is looking to get its edge back now, it may push the brand to actually pull the trigger.
Internally, BMW is blaming the lack of sales on its car being a little too boring and not being able to capture the attention of the public with technology like Tesla’s Autopilot. Gesture control was introduced on the 7 Series, but it hasn’t proved to be a technology that consumers care about.
[Source: Bloomberg]
