Auto Special: BMW makes e-mobility easier for customers

BMW China announced its innovative Mobility Service Strategy on Monday with ChargeNow as the first step in the company's new patterns of e-mobility. As the first premium brand providing such a service, the carmaker will expand its network nationwide.

Karsten Engel, president and CEO, BMW Group Region China said: "Chinese customers welcome new patterns of mobility, and demands for new-energy vehicle products and services are increasing fast in the normalizing market. Chinese regulatory support will greatly stimulate customer demands.

"Nowadays, the world's automotive industry is moving toward electrification and digitalization. Major trends and technological possibilities are changing the rules of the game in the automotive industry. BMW is happy to play our role to make the changes happen."

The just launched Charge-Now service for new-energy vehicles will provide customers a payment card to swipe and pay at charging posts, and the service can be accessed both via in-car screen and the BMW ConnectedDrive app.

The German premium carmaker offers its customers easy access to charging facilities with a holistic solution for charging both at home and at public charging points. Worldwide, BMW ChargeNow is the biggest charging network with more than 33,000 charging points in 24 markets, according to the company. BMW is working with State-owned China Potevio to build 500 charging posts for new-energy vehicles in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen by the end of this year, and plans to extend that footprint to more cities and double the amount of posts to 1,000 next year.

Bernd Koerber, vice-president of business development, BMW Group Region China, said: "Customers expect their travel in the city to be easy, convenient and efficient. There is a widespread desire in megacities for solutions that intelligently combine the benefits of various mobility concepts in a single package. Mobility Service is an innovative concept that BMW developed for the Internet age."

Other innovative BMW mobility services, such as DriveNow and ParkNow, will be brought to the Chinese market when conditions are suitable.

BMW Group believes the future of individual mobility has to address environmental issues, energy sources, traffic and parking issues. The group has clearly stated its mission is to become the leading provider of premium products and mobility services for individual mobility.

Engle said: "Innovation is at the core of our corporate strategy and the core strength of our company to build up our 99 years of success. Innovation starts with vision - the ability to foresee the future, to pinpoint changes in consumer demands, technological trends and overall market environment."

BMW China launched its "Innovation Powered by Joy" campaign last month to demonstrate its innovative strength.

The marque has taken a holistic approach to mobility services through a rich NEV lineup of imported and locally produced models. This includes the revolutionary pure electric i3, the futuristic high-performance i8 sports car, the X5 40e plug-in hybrid sports activity vehicle and the 530Le luxury sedan.

BMW's i3 and 530Le enjoy policies that encourage newenergy vehicles in many cities. The i3 is eligible for national and local government incentives and free license plates in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

BMW i3

The BMW i3 Lifestyle version was launched in the Chinese market on Aug 4 at a lower price, making it more competitive than preceding versions. The company plans to offer plug-in-hybrid versions across all model ranges in the near future.

BMW i3 customers can opt to be supported by a tailormade eChoice Loan, and the dealer networks for the BMW i series and plug-in hybrid vehicles are expanding.

When BMW eChoice Loan contracts end, customers have the options of returning the car to a BMW i dealer, paying the guaranteed minimum future value to keep the car, or trading the car in on a new BMW.

Now services

The launch of the Mobility Service Strategy is an integral part of BMW's China strategy, which focuses on innovation. All these services are already successfully running in other megacities worldwide. The strategy in China started with the ChargeNow Service, and more Now products will be introduced when the market is ready.

ChargeNow, an intelligent and connected public charging network, has already been launched in 24 markets, including the United States, Germany, Canada, France and Hong Kong.

The ChargeNow service in China seamlessly integrates public charging posts in the BMW experience. BMW customer can easily locate the nearest public charging stations via BMW ConnectedDrive devices, including Navigation Professional, the i Remote and ChargeNow apps and the ChargeNow website.

DriveNow is a car-sharing service provided in other countries by the BMW Group, which provides more customers with experience driving and riding in NEVs while also providing a cost-efficient and worry-free service. The main benefit of DriveNow is the flexible and spontaneous location-independent rental and return of vehicles.

The DriveNow program is the first all premium, free-floating car-sharing service from the BMW Group and covers more than 440,000 customers and over 3,100 cars.

The program is currently available in some cities in Germany, Austria, the UK, the US and Denmark. It is attracting more than 3,000 users to e-mobility each month.

DriveNow customers are the BMW Group's youngest and most modern target group, who are on average 10 years younger than Mini customers.

The ParkNow service offers premium on- and off-street parking services in a time- and cost-efficient manner. Real-time information for parking is provided and online reservations and payment are available.

It is expected to significantly improve usage of existing parking spaces.

haoyan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/11/2015 page15)