BMW opens first all-electric outlet

German car manufacturing giant BMW has opened its first sales facility solely dedicated to the firms electric ‘i series’ in the United States.

The new Stevens Creek BMW in Santa Clara, California is stocked with the BMW i3 battery powered EV and the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sport coupe.

In a statement, BMW said: “Our BMW i (Stevens Creek) facility caters to only the new BMW i3 and the growing electric-car lifestyle in the Bay Area. We have three Level 2 charging stations that are open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are free to use. And we have a staff of four BMW i Geniuses who are here to educate and provide extensive product knowledge on what BMW is trying to accomplish with the i3.”

Driven by a locally emission-free electric motor, the BMW i3 uses eDrive drivetrain technology and has a real-world range of up to 100 miles due to a high-voltage lithium ion battery and the BMW i3 Range Extender adds to the achievable range.

BMW has opted to build its core plug-in cars on all-new platforms, giving the BMW i3 and i8 lightweight carbon fiber bodies and passenger cells.

The automakers emission-free electric vehicles already include Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) technology to help mitigate the heavy batteries necessary to drive the plug-in drivetrains and the weight-saving technology from the i3 and i8 is now migrating into the larger 7 Series sedan making them more environmentally friendly.

The upcoming BMW i5 is due to be launched in 2018 and, like the i3 and i8, it will also make extensive use of carbon fibre.

BMW has been a key presence in the United Nations’ climate process and participated at the Twentieth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP20) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Lima, Peru in December.

BMW delivered an i3 to Achim Steiner, the Under-Secretary-General of the UN and UNEP Executive Director, who travelled around the Peruvian capital in the electric car during the two weeks of the UN Climate Change Conference.

Glenn Schmidt (pictured standing), Head of Steering Government Affairs at the BMW Group, handed over the car to Mr Steiner (pictured in car) as part of the Sustainable Innovation Forum 2014 (SIF14) being run by Climate Action.

Schmidt (pictured standing) was a key participant at the forum and presented BMW's sustainable transport solutions on a high-level plenary panel debate covering sustainable urbanisation and resilient cities.

BMW will also be a key participant during the COP21 U.N. meeting in Paris in December and are the headline sponsor of the Sustainable Innovation Forum (SIF15), which will be the main business focused conference during COP21.