“There’s an app for that”, or so the mantra goes. BMW’s marketing team has done a pretty good job when it comes to the “ultimate driving machine” over the decades, and it does not look as though a BMW is going to drop off the wish list of many a yuppie anytime soon. Having said that, it is not all about petrol guzzlers in their high performance machines, but rather, BMW has a mind to deliver green technology underneath the hood too, as evident in the BMW i3. There is a new BMW Smart Charging app that makes it possible for BMW i drivers to be able to identify the best rates and times for charging their electric vehicles at home automatically, helping you lower the overall cost of ownership in the long run.
This particular app was developed by the BMW Group and is currently available on both the Android and iOS platforms. Expect the BMW Smart Charging app to be integrated with the BMW i Remote App, where drivers can now obtain vehicle information over their smartphone. BMW claims that this app, if used under optimal conditions, will be able to help you save up to $400 each year when it comes to your electric bills, making them the first automotive manufacturer in the industry to deliver such automated and fully integrated functionality.
Right now, it is in its early phase of rollouts, so the BMW Smart Charging app will only be available to BMW Electronauts. Electronauts happen to be electric vehicle enthusiasts who are renting a BMW ActiveE under the German automotive maker’s field trial, and many of them happen to be the first few folks in the US who are driving around in a BMW i3. One does wonder just how many people this app can affect, since not everyone happens to “enjoy” a variable electricity rate. [Press Release]