The BMW i Instagram page provides a brief history lesson about the sub-brand and how it’s evolving. It all started with the BMW i announcement in February 2011, with two models available from launch: i3 and i8. The former will be phased out this July while the latter bowed out in late June 2020.

A month after the plug-in hybrid sports car was discontinued, the iX3 electric crossover debuted exclusively with rear-wheel drive. Later that year, in November, BMW took the wraps off the iX as a larger electric SUV with standard xDrive. In March 2021, the i4 followed as an EV equivalent of the 4 Series Gran Coupe, complete with a hot i4 M50 version as the first electric M. The iX M60 is not included in the social media post, but we saw it in January 2022 at CES as the firm’s fastest and most powerful model to carry the “i” badge.

Then we get to the most interesting slide of the Instagram post, the one about the i7. BMW insists the zero-emissions flagship will be the “first all-electric luxury sedan.” If we were to split hairs, the Mercedes EQS and Tesla Model S are technically not sedans since the two have a more practical liftgate. Ok, but what about the Lucid Air? Perhaps it’s not deemed as a true i7 rival. In addition, some will argue the Model S is not a bona fide luxury car.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ9kUI6IquP/

The i7 “Sets 2022 To An Exciting Start”

Since BMW is not specifying the size of the car, one can think about all luxury sedans on sale today. The Porsche Taycan and its sister model, Audi E-Tron GT, also fit the bill. We also mustn’t omit a couple of newcomers in this segment, the Genesis Electrified G80 and Mercedes EQE, which will do battle with the BMW i5 arriving in 2023.

Moving on, BMW i promises the i7 “sets 2022 to an exciting start”. Reading between the lines, we’re getting the impression the 7 Series without a combustion engine will debut soon.

The penultimate slide included in the Instagram post looks into the future by showing the i Vision Circular concept. In the last image, the four i-badged cars on sale today pose for a family portrait.

[Source: BMW i / Instagram]