How going electric helped me buy a BMW
Learn how smart home charging gave BMW iX3 driver James the opportunity to purchase a more premium car...
Sometimes, driving an electric car is the smarter choice: in more ways than one.
Take railway signalman James. When he first considered going electric, his biggest incentive was the potential savings in fuel costs. James put those savings towards the price of his vehicle, which ultimately let him get behind the wheel of a BMW iX3.[1]
“Never in a million years would I’ve thought I’d be sat driving a BMW,” James admits. “But because it’s an electric car, the saving that I’m making on the fuel means I can afford to put myself in this car.”
Watch the video at the top of this page – or read on – to learn more.
Learn more about BMW’s electric line-up
The cost-savings of home charging
Like many drivers, James has a fairly regular daily commute from his home in Wakefield to his place of work in Doncaster and back. “It’s a 50-mile round trip each time I commute,” James explains. “So, I can work out pretty much to the nearest 100 mile what my mileage is going to be for that month.”
“A couple of years ago, I wanted to look at options. Could I put myself in a more premium brand for the same overall cost of motoring? It was all calculated based on home charging, and the cost the electric is coming in at about 10% to 20% of the cost of the diesel, so it’s a massive saving for me – a saving I’ve contributed towards the cost of the car.”[1]
How BMW Finance makes going electric easy
BMW Finance offers a wealth of smart simple ways to help you figure out the costs of making the electric switch with BMW – saving you time and effort, and ultimately making financing an electric BMW even easier and more cost-efficient.[2]
You can browse and personalise quotes from a range of flexible tailored finance solutions and manage your finance online from the comfort of home, while BMW Select’s (Personal Contract Purchase) Guaranteed Future Value gives you full peace of mind by letting you know what your electric BMW will be worth at the end of your agreement. BMW can even help you finance the cost of an EV home charger, or help you insure your electric vehicle with BMW Flex Car Insurance.
The convenience of home charging
BMW’s comprehensive fast-growing line-up of all-electric saloons, estates and SUVs all offer plenty of range: from the sporty BMW iX2 SUV coupé which offers up to 283 miles (WLTP)[1] – enough to get you from Birmingham to Bristol and back on one charge – to the BMW i7, which offers up to 387 miles (WLTP)[1]. That could get you from London to the Lake District on one charge.
It’s not just how much range you have that matters, though. It’s how you use it. And that’s where we all need to rethink range, because most of the time – as James’ 50-mile commute in his BMW iX3 shows – we don’t drive as far as we think.
In fact, the typical daily mileage for the average UK driver is at most somewhere between 20 to 40 miles[3]. So, any of BMW’s all-electric models could easily cover a healthy batch of days doing work commutes, school runs, trips to the shops, or evenings out with family and friends without needing to use public chargers.
Equally, since most journeys start and end at home, you can take advantage of the fact that your car will spend a large portion of its time parked up – particularly overnight when you’re not using it. That’s perfect for home charging on lower-cost overnight energy rates that let you start every journey each morning with maximum range at the lowest possible cost, with minimum time and effort.
The benefit of home charging – both in terms of money and ease – was the main tipping point for James to think seriously about going electric. “I thought, you know what: let’s give it a go. Let’s see what it’s all about,” he explains. “All I had to do was install a home charger, add to that an EV tariff. The BMW takes the information from both the charger and the energy supplier. And it was seamless. It worked first time, no problems at all.”
How BMW tech makes it all easy
BMW has also focused on how always-online connected technology can make charging even easier and smarter – both at home and on-the-move. It’s all thanks to the always-online connectivity of all electric BMWs, which let you interact seamlessly with your vehicle remotely using the My BMW App on your smartphone.
That means you can view your battery’s range and your car’s charging status from anywhere – whether it’s from the comfort of your sofa when your car is plugged into a home charger, or while you’re grabbing a coffee while your car is plugged into a public charger. It helps you control the time and cost spent charging.[4]
You can even pre-condition your car’s interior while it’s plugged in and charging, meaning you don’t waste a minute of your time or any valuable range to ensure your car is at the right temperature – cool or warm – for the next leg of your journey.
Ultimately, it all adds up to making going electric even easier. And, as James has found, more cost-effective, too. “I'd never looked at BMW as an option for me,” he says. “But because it’s an electric car, the saving that I’m making on the fuel means I can afford to put myself in this car. I didn't think that I'd be in one of those cars one day. But here we are now.”[1]
Learn more about BMW’s electric line-up
[1] Savings will depend on a number of factors including energy tariffs, fuel cost, vehicle finance and mileage.
[2] Finance is subject to status and available to over 18s in the UK only. Guarantees and indemnities may be required. Finance is provided by BMW Financial Services (GB) Ltd, Summit ONE, Summit Avenue, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 0FB. BMW (UK) Limited introduces customers to BMW Financial Services only and does not receive any commission or other payment for the introduction. The introduction does not amount to independent financial advice. Your Retailer will receive a fixed commission for introducing customers to BMW Financial Services.
[3] Battery electric vehicle require mains electricity for charging. These figures were obtained after the battery had been fully charged. Whilst we recommend the battery for this vehicle is normally charged to 80% to help optimise the health and life of your battery, this WLTP figure was obtained after the battery had been charged to 100%. Figures shown are for comparability purposes. Only compare fuel consumption, Co2 and electric range figures with other cars tested to the same technical procedures. These figures may not reflect real life driving results, which will depend upon a number of factors including the starting charge of the battery, accessories fitted (post-registration), variations in weather, driving styles and vehicle load.
[4] Based on UK Government Department Of Transport research into average UK mileage: 2020 average private car mileage of 6,300 miles, and average company car mileage of 14,400 miles. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts09-vehicle-mileage-and-occupancy
[5] Features and functionality dependent on vehicle type and specification.
