On March 7th, 2016, BMW->ke178 halted production at nearly all factories, which joined the company's live official 100th anniversary celebration in the Olympiahalle in Munich. Now, the German brand returned to Olympiahalle for the 96th Annual General Meeting of BMW AG, where chairman Harald Kruger made several announcement about the automaker's future plans. As is the case with such important events, BMW unveiled plans to further expand its vehicle lineup and confirmed that brand-new vehicles will be launched in the future.

Arguably the most important news is that BMW will introduce a new luxury model.->ke505 Kruger had no actual details to share, but the most likely candidate is the highly anticipated 9 Series. Essentially a longer 7 Series->ke323 with a slightly revised exterior design, the 9 Series->ke4842 will be aimed at long-wheelbase versions of the S-Class->ke359 and slot right below the Rolls-Royce Ghost.->ke3434 Rumored since 2013, the limousine will most likely arrive in late 2018 or early 2019.

Another model confirmed by Kruger is the X7. Also rumored for quite some time, the X7->ke3218 will become BMW's largest SUV->ke145 and will offer seating for up to seven people. Key competitors for the big hauler will include the Cadillac Escalade->ke245 and Lincoln Navigator.->ke465 According to BMW, the X7 will become available in 2018, which means we could see it in concept->ke169 form sometime in 2017. The vehicle will likely share underpinnings with the upcoming Rolls-Royce->ke74 SUV, known as project Cullinan.

Kruger also said that BMW aims to expand its M->ke546 and i->ke3915 programs. Although details are slim, we expect to see a full-fledged M7, as well as high-performance versions of the X1,->ke2474 X3,->ke255 and X7.->ke3218 As far as the electric/hybrid i family goes, BMW will probably launch a larger version of the i3,->ke4694 dubbed i5.

Alongside the new nameplates, Munich will also debut new technology.->ke1701 Confirmed developments include an enhanced connectivity system, use of artificial intelligence, and autonomous cars.->ke5282

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Why it matters

Granted, BMW has some mighty big plans to see through by the end of the decade, but these claims are backed by some impressive earnings in 2015, which also means there are plenty of resources to invest in the future. The group earned over 92 billion euro ($104.95 billion) in 2015, a 15-percent increase compared to 2014, and a net profit or around 6.4 billion euro ($7.3 billion), a ten-percent increase. At the end of 2015, BMW's liquidity totaled more than 11 million euro ($12.55 million), making it the company with the highest credit rating of any automotive manufacturer in Europe. There's no doubt that the brand's current success is more than enough to fuel this new expansion. What's more, the new products will not only enable BMW to enter previously unexplored niches, but also expand its luxury vehicle portfolio and thus take another step toward becoming the leader of the premium market in just about every segment.

BMW 9 Series

Read our full review on the BMW 9 Series here.