How BMW driver Simon is rethinking electric range

It starts with 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. At the top of the tree is the BMW i7, which offers up to 387 miles (WLTP) of range[1]. That could get you from London to the Lake District on one charge.

It’s not just range; it’s how you use it

It’s not just how much range you have that matters, though. It’s how you use it. When it comes to day-to-day journeys, for example, we don’t drive nearly 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[2]. 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 charging.

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 anyway. 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. Effectively, it’s like having a petrol station in your house, ensuring you start every journey with a full – or nearly full – electric ‘tank’.

A different way to look at long journeys

So, that’s short day-to-day journeys sorted. But what about long journeys? Well, as we’ve highlighted, all of the models in BMW’s electric line-up offer more than enough range to do big journeys without worry. But, as Simon points out, who does a journey that long without taking a break?

“People say that a car needs to cover 400 to 500 miles to be useful for travelling, but you never really have to do 500 miles in one stint,” he explains. Instead, it’s using natural breaks in your journey to incorporate short bursts of rapid and ultra-rapidtop-up charging at service stations on major UK routes[3] – something electric converts call ‘grazing’ – before finding a more cost-effective and time-effective ‘destination charging’ option at your final halt. 

“You start the journey in the morning: wake up, car’s full, unplug it. You are travelling a couple of hundred miles – at which point you probably need to stop for a toilet break or something to eat,” Simon says “So, you go off and do that while your car is charging. 20 minutes later, we come back, jump in the car, and we’ve got another 100 miles of range[3] and we’re off down to the final destination. I think it’s not hard work to travel with an electric vehicle; it’s just a different way of using your time.”

More chargers than you think

But this brings us to the second part of range anxiety. It isn’t solely the capabilities of an all-electric car. It’s also concern about the capability of the charging network. Are there enough chargers – and enough rapid and ultra-rapid chargers – for us all to keep moving? 

Well, according to zap-map.com, as of June 2024 there were over 64,000 devices at 33,800 UK locations. And the network continues to grow fast, with around 2,200 new devices added in June 2024 alone. The way the network has been laid out also makes real sense. Around 20% of chargers are 50kW+ rapid chargers and 150kW+ ultra-rapid chargers that add a lot of miles in short periods of time. These tend to be located at motorway service stations and petrol stations on major A-road routes, where drivers want to do a quick top-up around coffee and lunch breaks.

BMW has even made accessing the UK’s fast-growing charging network even easier with BMW Charging. It’s an account with simple tariffs that give you easy one-card access to over 36,000 UK chargers and over 769,000 chargers across Europe – all without having to juggle multiple charging accounts and multiple charging cards, while offering the opportunity to take advantage of preferential rates with selected suppliers.[5] 

“The charging infrastructure is good enough for you not to have to worry about it – especially with the charging infrastructure that BMW have coupled up with,” says Simon. “On a major route like this, there are always chargers to go to, and there’s generally destination chargers when you get to your end point.”

Smart BMW tech that makes it all easy 

So, BMW’s all-electric cars offer more than enough range to do most journeys – short and long. And there are probably more chargers than you might think. But BMW has also focused on how smart always-online connected technology can make navigating all-electric journeys even easier and smarter.

The in-car BMW Maps on BMW’s all-electric models uses always-online cloud-based Connected Navigation with Connected Charging and Connected Parking. It can dynamically plot your perfect route: seamlessly syncing the latest real-time traffic information with the best, fastest or most cost-effective charging solutions – whether it’s ultra-rapid chargers on your route or charging options near your destination where you can park your vehicle and charge at a slower, more cost-effective rate.

Thanks to the always-online connectivity of all-electric BMWs, they also sync seamlessly with the My BMW App on your smartphone. That means you can view your battery’s range and your car’s charging status remotely from anywhere – whether it’s 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.[4]

That helps you control the time and cost of charging. You can even pre-condition your car’s interior while it’s charging, meaning you don’t waste a minute of your time or any of your valuable range ensuring your car is at the right temperature – whether cool or warm – for the next leg of your journey. You can also plan your journey remotely using the My BMW App before syncing it seamlessly with the BMW Maps system in your vehicle.

As Simon explains, it all works seamlessly, putting you in charge. “I don’t ever plan a route. I’ll just jump in the car. The BMW will know you’ve left with this amount of charge, it is this far. So, it will start planning your route via charging stations and it will indicate how long you’ll need to be at those charging stations. So, it really takes all the effort out of you having to think about it.”

Learn more about BMW’s electric line-up

[1] 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.

[2] 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

[3] Charging time dependent on charging station power, as well as other factors such as battery temperature, condition and starting charge.

[4] Features and functionality dependent on vehicle type and specification.