BMW launches new 7 series luxury limousine

Models pose next to the all new BMW 7 Series, during a launch event at the BMW Driving Center in Incheon, Wednesday. / Courtesy of BMW Korea

By Park Jin-hai

BMW has launched its flagship 7 Series luxury limousine, competing against the Mercedes-Benz S Class here in Korea.

The sixth-generation 7 Series, premiering at the Frankfurt motor show in June, provides new standards for BMW with its lightweight design, driving dynamics, luxury features and cutting-edge technologies.

“In the year, marking the 20th anniversary of opening its Korean office, the new 7 Series was launched, building the foundation for another 20 successful years here,” said BMW Korea CEO Kim Hyo-joon, during the launch event at the BMW Driving Center in Incheon.

“Korean customers will surely give the strongest response to this vehicle with its great performance and design.”

The company said 1,000 customers had already ordered the latest 7 Series.

One of the most striking features of the new 7 Series is fully autonomous automatic parking. The remote-control parking feature enables owners to move the car in or out of forward-parking spaces or garages with no one behind the wheel.

It also has an innovative gesture control system, where its censor reads six hand gestures to control the vehicle’s infotainment system. For instance, hand signals can be used for volume up and down or to receive calls and hang up the phone.

With the use of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, the latest 7 Series has trimmed its weight by 130 kilograms.

The 7 Series’ price ranges from 130 million won to 192 million won, depending on the model. The price offer is valid until the end of this year, due to the government consumption tax cut.