BMW 7/i7 refresh gets Rimac tech
BMW plans a refresh for the 7 Series and the i7 that will use Rimac‑developed battery technology, which is a notable move toward high‑performance electrified luxury packaging. That partnership signals premium brands are outsourcing specialist EV tech to boutique engineering houses to accelerate updates (x.com).
BMW’s flagship sedan is getting one of its most important parts from a company better known for electric hypercars than chauffeur cars. On April 7, BMW said the refreshed all-electric BMW i7 will use a high-voltage battery system developed with Rimac Technology and shown publicly on April 22 at Auto China 2026 in Beijing. (press.bmwgroup.com) That battery is the part that sets an electric car’s range, charging speed, and much of its weight distribution. BMW says the new pack is meant to give the i7 more range and higher charging speed than the current version. (press.bmwgroup.com) BMW’s old electric packs in this class used prismatic cells, which are flat rectangular blocks like books on a shelf. The new i7 switches to cylindrical lithium-ion cells in a 4695 format, which are round cells about 46 millimeters wide and 95 millimeters tall. (press.bmwgroup.com) BMW says those cylindrical cells have about 20 percent higher volumetric energy density than its previous Gen5 prismatic cells. In plain terms, the same space inside the floor can hold more usable energy, which is exactly what a long-wheelbase luxury sedan needs. (press.bmwgroup.com) The unusual part is who is building it. Rimac Technology, based in Croatia, is making the battery system in Zagreb, while BMW supplies the sixth-generation electric-drive cell concept and installs the finished packs into the i7 at Dingolfing in Germany. (electrive.com) Rimac is not a household supplier like CATL or LG Energy Solution. It grew out of Mate Rimac’s electric supercar company, and today it sells battery systems, drive units, and electronics to other carmakers through Rimac Technology. (rimac-technology.com) BMW and Rimac have been working together since 2023, but this i7 project is the first production car to come out of that relationship. BMW says the cooperation combines BMW’s Gen6 battery technology with Rimac’s development and manufacturing work on the complete high-voltage storage system. (press.bmwgroup.com) This is a mid-cycle update, not a clean-sheet replacement, which makes the battery change more interesting. Reports on the April 22 reveal say BMW is refreshing both the 7 Series and the i7, while giving the electric version a much deeper hardware upgrade under the skin. (autoblog.com) (carscoops.com) It also shows how the luxury end of the market is changing. Instead of waiting for a full redesign, BMW is using a specialist engineering house to speed a major electric update on its most expensive sedan. (electrive.com) (press.bmwgroup.com) The final missing numbers are the ones buyers will care about most: miles of range, charging time, and power output. BMW has not published those figures yet, and says the world premiere for the refreshed BMW 7 Series and BMW i7 is set for April 22, 2026. (press.bmwgroup.com)
