BMW has announced this week that it will expand its ChargeNow electric-car charging program to 25 cities. The network of charging stations is developed in collaboration with the EVgo network. Drivers of the BMW i3 electric car, the i8 plug-in hybrid and BMW i Performance hybrids will now be able to charge their cars by signing up for two plans.
An annual membership is made available, split into two offerings depending on the specs of the BMW car. For BMW i3 drivers whose cars are equipped with the CCS DC charging port, the cost is $99 for unlimited DC fast charging (up to 30 minutes) plus use of all EVgo 240-volt Level 2 charging sites (up to 1 hour).
Using the DC fast-charge, owners can charge to 80-percent battery capacity in less than 30 minutes. For owners of all other plug-in BMW vehicles, the cost is $39 for unlimited use of EVgo’s public Level 2 charging stations (up to 2 hours). Additional fees will apply beyond these standard times.
The second plan is a pay-as-you-go and let’s users pay only when they charge: the DC Fast charging is priced at $2.95 session fee + $0.15 per minute (savings of 30 percent), while the Level 2 charging costs $1.20 per plug-hour (savings of 20 percent). The savings specified are in comparison to Flex Plan rates for EVgo members who are not enrolled in the ChargeNow by EVgo program through BMW.
Of the 25 cities and regions covered by the BMW-EVgo program, nine are in California and the Pacific Northwest, four are in the Northeast, and another three are in Texas.
To find out more details, visit www.ChargeNowUSA.com.
[Source: Chris Neff | GreenCarReports]
