BMW will place 80,000 public charging poles in China

In line with BMW’s commitment to further expand its charging networks in the world, the German automaker announced its plan to install 80,000 public charging poles in China — the largest energy auto market in the world. These public charging poles will be strategically located in more than 100 Chinese cities. The aim is to provide more efficient, convenient and intelligent public charging services for their new energy vehicle users.

“BMW is already the market leader of the premium electric car segment and will continue to lead e-mobility development,” Martijn Oremus, head of brand management, new energy vehicles at BMW Brilliance, told reporters.

The latest BMW Charging Station Wallbox charges the BMW i3’s battery from dry to 80 percent in just under four hours, according to the company. BMW also provides a 1,680-hour or two-year free charging service to car owners who don’t have their own private charging facilities in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Chengdu.

This initiative will be on top of the 65,000 charging poles BMW already installed in different Chinese cities in 2017. They installed these in cooperation with the four major Chinese charging network operators, including Qingdao Teld New Energy.

China is the host of the world’s largest public charging network for electric vehicles, with a total of more than 440,000 charging poles in the country, including 213,903 public charging poles and 231,820 private charging poles.