BMW 7 Series launch: petrol and EV at Rs 1,95,00,000

NEW DELHI: BMW's new 7 Series range puts the 740 M Sport petrol and i7 50 xDrive M Sport electric sedan at the same Rs 1,95,00,000 ex-showroom launch price. The i7 M70 xDrive is Rs 2,65,00,000. The official India announcement is dated 11 September 2026, rather than a fresh November launch.

Launch variant	Ex-showroom price
BMW 740 M Sport	Rs 1,95,00,000
BMW i7 50 xDrive M Sport	Rs 1,95,00,000
BMW i7 M70 xDrive	Rs 2,65,00,000

Price as of 4 November 2026, 00:00 IST. These are the official release figures; BMW's current model catalogue also lists the petrol 7 Series and i7 from Rs 1,95,00,000. The launch document says invoicing-date prices apply and excludes registration-related charges, TCS and insurance.

Local production now includes the electric flagship

BMW says both the petrol sedan and regular i7 are produced at its Chennai plant, while the M70 arrives as a completely built-up import. The release scheduled deliveries from October 2026. It does not establish an individual customer's current waiting period or a particular dealer's available stock.

Equal entry prices make this an unusually clear powertrain comparison within a flagship family. A prospective owner can begin with the way the car will be used, rather than assuming an electric badge automatically carries a higher starting amount. The ownership discussion then moves to charging access, route planning and the desired driving experience.

For a car shared between a chauffeur and its owner, that exercise has two parts. The rear compartment needs to work during the weekday routine, while the controls and road manners need to suit whoever drives outside it. Testing only the reclining seat, or only the acceleration, would leave half the intended experience unexplored.

What changes inside the cabin

The current 7 Series product page places Panoramic iDrive and Operating System X at the centre of the cabin. It describes information projected across the lower windscreen area, alongside a separate central display. A dedicated front-passenger screen adds another place for entertainment without requiring the passenger to use the driver's main control surface.

That arrangement changes how a demonstration should be conducted. Ask to see navigation, climate adjustment and the passenger entertainment functions in the same session. The goal is to understand which control belongs to whom, including how a passenger can change a setting without interrupting the driver's task.

BMW also describes a digital interior mirror that preserves the rearward view when the roof-mounted screen or sunblind is lowered. Automatic doors and rear-seat controls form part of the model's comfort presentation. Equipment and digital-service availability should still be matched to the actual India configuration.

The petrol sedan remains a substantial part of the range

The 740 M Sport uses a three-litre six-cylinder engine rated at 400 hp and 540 Nm in the India announcement. BMW claims a 0 to 100 km/h time of 5.4 seconds. These are manufacturer specifications, rather than measurements from a road test conducted for this report.

The product page describes adaptive air suspension on both axles and rear-wheel steering. For everyday use, the useful questions are how the vehicle responds to a broken surface and how easily it manoeuvres in the parking space it will occupy. Those observations give the flagship's chassis technology a more practical meaning than the equipment names alone.

The shared starting amount does not establish identical equipment costs after personalisation. A written configuration should identify paint, interior treatment and the relevant digital services. If the same family is assessing petrol and electric cars, keep those choices comparable before drawing any conclusion about the final price difference.