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BMW Claims Its New 7 Series Plug-in-Hybrid Has a Longer Range than the Equivalent S-Class

The 2016 BMW 7 Series is heading to showrooms around the world as we speak. Unfortunately, at launch, the 7er is available only in a couple of guises, and they don’t include the 740e model, which is the plug-in version specially prepared for eco-conscious customers.
BMW 740e 1 photo
Photo: BMW
Amongst the ones you can grab right now you’ll find both gasoline and diesel alternatives, but none that can go around town with zero emissions. Sounds ridiculous? Well, it’s not, neither the idea of executives cruising around on electric power nor the idea that the hybrid is not available yet.

The thing is, the 740e is probably just not ready yet and a justification for that might have just been offered by BMW’s Development Chief, Mr. Klaus Froelich. He recently said in a statement to Automotive News Europe the following:

“When our 740e plug-in hybrid comes to market next year, it will set the benchmark in terms of fuel consumption and electric range. Our goal is 49 grams [of CO2 per kilometer] and circa 40km [of full-electric driving].”

Therefore, the 740e might just not be ready to take on the world right now, fine tuning being probably required. These are bold claims, nonetheless, especially for a car that weighs nearly 2 tons and has a rather small electric motor on board, not to mention a smaller amount of batteries. However, if this turns out to be the actual goal they want to achieve, it would surpass the Mercedes-Benz S500e plug-in hybrid, which is rated at 33 km (22 miles) right now.

Of course, this is part of a wider plan to make the 7er a proper rival for the new flagship from Stuttgart, a car that was sold in over 100,000 units last year alone. Admittedly, it did so without proper competition from BMW that had an old model on sale, about to go out of production.

Even so, at its peak, the previous-gen model reached a maximum sales figure of 67,200 cars, a number that is still considerably low compared to what the Mercedes registered.

Either way, it will be interesting to see how the two compare against each other once they are both on sale, especially with the BMW claiming to bring at least 13 industry-wide premieres aboard the 7er. While we’re not contesting that number, we’re not absolutely convinced of their practicality.
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