Schneider Electric and BMW South Africa have announced a partnership for the supply and set-up of charging points for BMW’s electric vehicles, which they say will go on sale starting early next year.
Schneider will work together with BMW electric car customers and sales agents to carry out home surveys ahead of installing charging points and providing support and maintenance for “wallbox” charging stations.
According to Antonio Antela Martinez, the sales and marketing director of BMW South Africa, the company sees the professional wallbox installation for charging the BMW i8 and i3 as one of the major factors that have led to successful marketing of electric vehicles.
BMW hopes that the i3 will be used by metropolitans who do not travel out of the city or substitute a family’s second car, since electric vehicles lack enough battery capacity that can compete with the drive range of a full petrol tank. In a single charge, the i3 can go for approximately 160km, depending on how it is driven.
The BMW i3 will also have a range extender engine that maintains the charge of the lithium-ion battery at a fixed level while moving using a small 650cc engine that charges the batteries during an emergency.
The BMW i8 is a flashy sports hybrid with a petrol engine and an electric motor.