BMW to Build a 7 Series Coupe Because the Sedan Ain't Cutting It: Report

The sixth-generation BMW 7 Series didn’t go over exactly as the automaker might have hoped, so it’s planning to ditch two doors and hope for the best.

Sources close to the company’s plans tell Bloomberg that a coupe version of the flagship sedan is in development as BMW tries to catch up to the more successful Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

An updated and restyled 7 Series bowed for the 2016 model year, but the hoped-for sales turnaround hasn’t been stellar. After a 2009 sales dip caused by the recession, U.S. 7 Series sales have fallen every year since 2010, dipping below the 10,000 mark in 2014 and 2015. Year-to-date sales are higher than the first seven months of 2015, but not by much.

In contrast, sales of the S-Class topped 20,000 during each of the past two years, more than double that of the 7 Series. BMW’s plan, which hasn’t been made public, is to create more versions of its top-shelf passenger car to boost overall sales.

According to the report, the need to increase sales is as much about image and reputation as it is about revenue. BMW isn’t used to being an also-ran in the luxury game, yet it finds its turf threatened not just by German rivals (the next-generation Audi A8 lands in 2017 as a 2018 model), but by premium upstarts like the Tesla Model S.

“The 7 Series hasn’t managed the same ‘aha’ effect as the new S-Class,” Juergen Pieper, an analyst at Bankhaus Metzler, told Bloomberg. “It’s lacking that special something.”

The same sources claim BMW blames a boring design and too few technological advances for the lackluster response. That’s a problem, as the next A8 is expected to surpass both BMW and Mercedes-Benz with its available tech, especially its self-driving system.

Mercedes-Benz is flinging out different S-Class variants six ways to Sunday, a strategy BMW will now follow. The coupe variant likely won’t be the only new 7 Series. The automaker plans to flesh out the model with a high-performance version, a plug-in hybrid, and an ultra-luxury version to take on Mercedes-Maybach, the sources claim.

[Image: BMW Group]