BMW EV the i7 spotted testing

Spy shots have emerged of the new BMW i7 electric luxury-saloon, out testing near the companies headquarters in Munich.

The i7 will be the all electric equivalent to BMW's long serving 7-Series flagship.

The i7 will initially be sold alongside it's petrol and diesel counterpart as BMW aim to have half their fleet electrified by 2030.

This coincides with several German cities forcing combustion engined cars out of city centres in an aggressive move to clean up polluted urban environments.

It's believed the i7 will be powered by the same power-train as the upcoming BMW iX3, the all electric SUV that is due to go on sale in Spring next year.

Next year's iX3

That power-train consists of an 80kWh battery-pack that powers a rear-mounted electric motor through a single-speed gearbox. The WLTP claimed range is 458kms.

Power will likely be increased for the variant installed in the flagship i7 so it can compete with upcoming rivals from Mercedes, with their up-coming EQS and the soon to be launched, all electric XJ from Jaguar.

These cars are set to have range capabilities of over 600km, so BMW will be striving to extract more longevity from their EV set-up.

The Mercedes EQS concept

The heavily camouflaged test car doesn't give much away about the i7's aesthetics, but expect BMWs move to giant kidney grilles to continue on this new model.

As with the iX3, which looks very similar to its combustion engined equivalent, the X3, the i7 will probably strike a strong resemblance to the current generation 7-Series, with a smattering of blue accents to denote it's electric underpinnings.

Inside, the i7 will surely have the latest and greatest tech and be a touch screen and button-free zone. BMW have kept their iDrive system, with it's scroll wheel, in it's current models, which makes navigating their infotainment systems more intuitive than those offered by rivals.

We expect to see the full production version of the i7 early next year.