Semiautonomous driving features including self-parking and improved distance-control cruise control are expected.
Styling will take some cues from the elegant Vision Future Luxury Concept that debuted in April at the Beijing auto show.
That car led to rumors that BMW would add a 7-series coupe as a range topper and possibly call it the 9 series.
BMW will not build the coupe, and the concept was a design study for the future 7 series, Ludwig Willisch, CEO of BMW of North America, said in an interview this year with Automotive News.
The new generation will have a 50-state clean diesel, a plug-in hybrid and possibly a four-cylinder engine that may be unavailable in the United States.
BMW is considering a high-performance awd M version of the 7 series for the first time, primarily for the United States, to compete with the Mercedes-Benz AMG S-class sedan.
Z4: The two-seat sports car will be redesigned in 2018. It will use an architecture jointly developed with Toyota. There are unconfirmed reports that the redesign-ed Z4 will have awd and a hybrid powerplant.
X3: The X3 will be redesigned in 2017 and there's talk of a plug-in hybrid and M high-performance model. Because it will sit on the new modular platform, the replacement X3 is expected to gain interior space.
X5: A hybrid based on the concept X5 eDrive is expected to go on sale next year. It likely will have a 245-hp four-cylinder 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine and a lithium ion electric motor that makes 95 hp. The car can be charged from an ordinary electric socket.
The concept could drive 20 miles on electric power alone.
BMW's largest current crossover will get a freshening in 2016.
X6: The re-engineered second-generation crossover with coupe styling has grown about 1.3 inches in length and has increased luggage space. It goes on sale late this year.
The re-engineered X6 has contouring on the hood, a more pronounced shoulder line and a bolder front end. It will be available with rwd in addition to awd.
The X6 has a base 3.0-liter TwinPower turbo inline six-cylinder engine with 300 hp and BMW's updated 445 hp TwinPower turbo 4.4-liter V-8 engine.
X7: The new seven-seat crossover will be built at BMW's factory in South Carolina. Specifics are unavailable but it will go on sale in 2017 or 2018. The X7 will not account for the entire 100,000 unit planned increase in capacity at the factory.