BMW product manager Max Hubert stated competitors abandoning luxury sedans creates growth opportunities, noting the 7 Series was 2025's most successful luxury sedanThe refreshed 2027 7 Series features subtle exterior updates, significant interior improvements, and enhanced range for the electric i7 modelsPricing starts at $101,350 for rear-wheel drive versions, with the fully electric i7 60 xDrive beginning at $126,250 as Audi and Lexus focus on luxury SUVs instead BMW has decided that now, while everyone else is fleeing the luxury sedan segment in terror, is precisely the right moment to double down on the 7 Series. Which is either brilliant contrarian thinking or catastrophically bad timing. Possibly both. Max Hubert, the 7 Series product manager, addressed this situation rather directly. Competitors are abandoning full-size luxury sedans entirely. Audi killed the A8. Lexus terminated the LS. Both companies are pivoting toward three-row luxury SUVs because that's where customers apparently want to spend $100,000-plus these days. But Hubert sees this exodus as opportunity rather than warning sign. According to BMW's data, the 7 Series was last year's best-selling luxury sedan. Not just successful. The most successful. That performance suggests demand still exists for expensive four-door flagship models, even if manufacturers are convinced otherwise. BMW believes this trend continues, which explains their commitment to refreshing the 7 Series while competitors surrender the territory. Mercedes-Benz shares BMW's optimism. They've also updated the S-Class recently, maintaining their position in the full-size luxury sedan market. So it's not BMW alone defending this segment. But it's increasingly just BMW and Mercedes, which creates interesting dynamic. They're essentially splitting the remaining luxury sedan customers between themselves while everyone else chases SUV buyers. BMW 7 Series: Betting on sedans when others won't The refreshed 7 Series arrives with evolutionary improvements rather than revolutionary changes. Exterior updates are subtle, which is appropriate for flagship sedans where radical design shifts tend to alienate existing customers. The interior receives considerably more attention, with significant upgrades addressing complaints about the outgoing model's cabin quality and technology integration. The electric i7 variants gain additional range, addressing the primary concern buyers express about electric luxury vehicles. Nobody wants purchasing a $125,000 sedan only to discover it can't complete long journeys without multiple charging stops. Range improvements directly address that anxiety without requiring customers to compromise on luxury or performance.Gasoline models receive performance refinements, though specifics remain vague. These likely involve powertrain tuning, chassis adjustments, and technology updates rather than fundamentally different engines or transmissions. Evolution rather than revolution, which is how flagship sedans should develop when the formula already works. Pricing starts at $101,350 for the rear-wheel-drive 7 Series. All-wheel drive xDrive models begin at $104,350. The electric i7 50 xDrive costs $107,750, while the more powerful i7 60 xDrive reaches $126,250. A plug-in hybrid variant joins the lineup later this year, providing middle ground between pure combustion and full electric for customers who want both options. That pricing positions the 7 Series directly against the Mercedes S-Class, which is now its primary competitor given Audi and Lexus's departure. Competition between two manufacturers typically benefits customers through improved products and competitive pricing. Whether it benefits the manufacturers themselves depends on whether sufficient customers actually exist to justify their continued investment. The shift toward luxury SUVs isn't mysterious or irrational. SUVs provide commanding driving position, perceived safety advantages, versatile cargo space, and all-wheel drive capability. They offer everything most customers actually need from expensive vehicles. Sedans provide superior handling dynamics, better fuel efficiency, easier parking, and more elegant proportions. Those advantages matter considerably to enthusiasts and very little to people spending six figures on family transportation. BMW's bet is that enough customers still value what sedans offer to justify continued 7 Series production. They're not expecting massive sales volumes. They're targeting specific buyers who prefer traditional luxury sedan experience over trendy SUV alternatives. That's niche market by modern automotive standards, but potentially sustainable one if BMW executes properly. The risk is being left holding expensive manufacturing capacity and engineering investment when demand finally collapses completely. If luxury sedan sales decline another 30 percent over the next five years, BMW will face difficult decisions about whether continuing 7 Series production makes financial sense. But if they're correct that competitors abandoning the segment creates opportunity, they could actually increase market share even as overall segment shrinks. Mercedes faces identical calculation with the S-Class. Both manufacturers are essentially betting that luxury sedan demand stabilizes at lower but sustainable levels rather than continuing terminal decline. They're wagering that some customers will always prefer sedans and are willing to pay premium prices for vehicles meeting their preferences when alternatives become scarce.The comment sections on automotive websites suggest BMW's design choices for the 7 Series remain controversial. People use words like "ugly" and "putrid" with alarming frequency. But comment sections rarely represent broader market sentiment. They represent the most passionate voices, which skew toward traditional design preferences and resistance to change. Whether actual customers share these opinions determines success or failure. BMW sold more 7 Series units last year than any competitor sold luxury sedans. That's meaningful validation of their strategy, assuming the data is accurate and fairly compared. It suggests they've correctly identified continuing demand while competitors overreacted to declining sales by abandoning the segment entirely. Time reveals whether BMW's optimism proves justified or delusional. If luxury sedan demand stabilizes and the 7 Series maintains strong sales, their decision to stay committed looks brilliant in retrospect. If demand continues collapsing and they're forced to discontinue the model in a few years, it looks like stubbornness overruling commercial reality. For now, BMW remains committed to flagship sedans. The refreshed 7 Series arrives with improvements addressing customer concerns while maintaining the fundamental formula. Whether enough customers actually want that formula to justify its continued existence remains the critical question determining this vehicle's future. At least BMW is trying. That's preferable to every manufacturer conceding defeat and building nothing but SUVs.
