As announced earlier this year, BMW is to brand all of its plug-in hybrid products as iPerformance models, aimed at displaying technological links with the i sub-brand.

Now, the brand has launched 740e and 740Le xDrive saloons to join the 225xe Active Tourer, BMW 330e saloon and BMW X5 xDrive40e already on sale.

In the 740e and BMW 740Le xDrive 2.0-litre TwinPower Turbo petrol engine is combined with an electric motor to produce a combined 322bhp. Both models can cover up to 29 miles on electric power alone while official CO2 emissions range from 49g/km to 56g/km with fuel consumption from 134.5mpg to 113mpg.

OTR prices for the BMW 740e and 740Le xDrive start from £68,330 and £74,880 and are available in the Exclusive or M Sport trim.

The new launches also include 2.0-litre petrol engines for the 1 Series and 2 Series models.

The units are available in 20i, 25i and 30i guises, and bring 7bhp more than the units they replace, offering 181bhp, 221bhp and 249bhp respectively.

The 2.0-litre engines employ BMW TwinPower Turbo technology incorporating a Twin Scroll turbocharger, direct fuel injection and VALVETRONIC and Double VANOS valve control.

Acceleration times with the new engines are trimmed and fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions also fall in many models, in some cases by up to 17g/km.

An eight-speed Sport Automatic transmission becomes standard for the 125i, while on the BMW 2 Series Coupé and Convertible a 230i takes the place of the former 228i.

Prices start at £23,980 OTR for the new BMW 1 Series, £26,865 OTR for the BMW 2 Series Coupé and £29,830 OTR for the Convertible.

BMW is also adding the iDrive interface and enhanced connectivity services to the 1 Series, 2 Series, 3 Series, 4 Series, X5 and X6 ranges.

Other changes include new six-cylinder M140i and M240i models to replace the M135i and M235i and an M Sport version of the BMW 225xe Active Tourer Plug-in-Hybrid,