One of the biggest hurdles towards zero-emission vehicle adoption has been the need to rework your mindset around having an almost completely different experience of recharging an EV. At least for UK fans, the BMW Group is making it slightly easier to overcome the obstacle with the arrival of the BMW Charging and MINI Charging services.
Probably no one will have a solution too soon for the rather long waiting times when it comes to recharging battery-electric cars, but the premium carmaker from Germany makes it easier to get access to the outlets for its clients.
With the launch of the BMW and MINI Charging services, the company promises owners will have at their disposal “one of the world’s largest public charging networks, using just one RFID card” or smartphone application. Basically, either using the new BMW/MINI card or the BMW or MINI Charging App, they are granted easy access to more than 11,000 charging points in the UK alone.
As always, these also need to be broken down into their respective AC and DC (alternate or direct current) categories. That paints a slightly bleaker picture in terms of waiting times: just 1,500 of those are of the fast DC variety, even though the company provides access to different operators across the UK.
The current network includes the likes of bp pulse (also ChargeYourCar), ESB, Osprey, Source London and Chargepoint Network UK (also Instavolt), and others. As far as high-power stations, they’re only available through the Ionity network, the joint venture between the BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company, VW AG, and the Hyundai Motor Group.
On the other hand, using BMW Charging and MINI Charging also comes with the bonus of using some 173,000 charge points across continental Europe. Some 162,000 of those are of the AC variety, while an additional 11,000 access points have DC connections.
Additionally, BMW and MINI offer a few nice charging packs (no subscription fee for 12 months) when purchasing a plug-in hybrid or fully electric vehicle from official BMW or MINI Centers.
With the launch of the BMW and MINI Charging services, the company promises owners will have at their disposal “one of the world’s largest public charging networks, using just one RFID card” or smartphone application. Basically, either using the new BMW/MINI card or the BMW or MINI Charging App, they are granted easy access to more than 11,000 charging points in the UK alone.
As always, these also need to be broken down into their respective AC and DC (alternate or direct current) categories. That paints a slightly bleaker picture in terms of waiting times: just 1,500 of those are of the fast DC variety, even though the company provides access to different operators across the UK.
The current network includes the likes of bp pulse (also ChargeYourCar), ESB, Osprey, Source London and Chargepoint Network UK (also Instavolt), and others. As far as high-power stations, they’re only available through the Ionity network, the joint venture between the BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company, VW AG, and the Hyundai Motor Group.
On the other hand, using BMW Charging and MINI Charging also comes with the bonus of using some 173,000 charge points across continental Europe. Some 162,000 of those are of the AC variety, while an additional 11,000 access points have DC connections.
Additionally, BMW and MINI offer a few nice charging packs (no subscription fee for 12 months) when purchasing a plug-in hybrid or fully electric vehicle from official BMW or MINI Centers.