2023 BMW i7 previewed in Malaysia – G70 7 Series EV with 544 PS, 615 km range; Mercedes-Benz EQS rival

In April this year, BMW unveiled the all-new, seventh-generation G70 7 Series, which is also available as an electric vehicle in the form of the BMW i7. Shortly after, BMW Malaysia began accepting registrations of interest for the i7, with the EV also being listed on the company’s website.

UPDATE: The BMW i7 has been launched in Malaysia for RM729,800.

Fast forward to yesterday (July 19, 2022), and the i7 has now made its first appearance in Malaysia. It should be noted that the EV was presented during a private preview event and has not officially gone on sale – we don’t know yet when this will happen. Additionally, the car you see here is a left-hand drive, pre-production unit that is not representative of what BMW Malaysia will offer customers here.

During the global debut of the i7, BMW said the fully electric sedan will initially be offered worldwide in xDrive60 guise before further variants, including the M70 xDrive, arrive in the future. With the xDrive60 powertrain, the i7 features a 101.7-kWh underfloor-mounted lithium-ion battery that offers up to 625 km of range according to the WLTP standard – 615 km is quoted on the ROI page.

The battery powers two electric motors – one for each axle – with the all-wheel drive setup being rated at 544 PS (536 hp or 400 kW) and 745 Nm of torque. These outputs are good for a 0-100 km/h time of 4.7 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 240 km/h. BMW Malaysia curiously quotes a higher torque figure of 795 Nm on its website, which is what the i4 M50 offers.

For charging, the i7 comes with a Combine Charging Unit (CCU) that allows for AC charging at a rate of up to 11 kW via a Type 2 connection, with a full charge taking about 9.5 hours. There’s also DC fast charging up to 195 kW with a CCS2 connection, which enables a 10-80% state of charge to be reached in just 34 minutes.

Styling-wise, the i7 looks a lot like a regular G70, so there’s the unmistakable large kidney grille and split headlamps, accompanied by EV-specific touches like blue accents on certain body panels and the BMW badges. As you’d expect of a flagship EV sedan, the interior of the i7 is lined with lots of premium materials and is loaded with tech, including a bevy of displays that range from small ones on the door panels to a massive 31.3-inch 8K BMW Theatre Screen.

The i7 will take on the Mercedes-Benz EQS, which has been sighted in Malaysia ahead of a launch set to take place later this week on July 22. We don’t know which variant of the EQS we’re getting yet, but in its highest-non-AMG guise, the EQS 580 4Matic offers 523 PS (516 hp or 385 kW) and 855 Nm (0-100 km/h in 4.3 seconds, 210 km/h top speed) as well as 50 km more range from its 107.8-kWh battery.

How much will the BMW i7 price be in Malaysia? No news yet, but it has a UK starting price of around 110,000 pounds, which translates to just under RM580k at current exchange rates. Add on some equipment instead of leaving it a base model, and perhaps we could see the BMW i7 priced at between RM600,000 to RM700,000 in Malaysia, which is competitive against the EQS 450+’s RM699k price tag.

BMW Malaysia is certainly not slowing down when it comes to electro-mobility, as in the past months, the company has launched the iX, iX3, i4 (including the M50 variant). Besides the i7, other BMW EVs listed on the website include the performance-focused M60 variant of the iX as well as the iX1.

GALLERY: G70 BMW i7

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.

Learn more: BMW i7