BMW launches BMW and MINI Charging in the UK to make charging your EV simpler

The BMW Group launches BMW Charging and MINI Charging in the UK to make charging EVs and Hybrids simpler and cheaper.

One of the biggest pains if you run an electric car is the real faf of signing up to umpteen different providers to make sure you can use a working charger when you’re out and about and need more juice.

Instead of simply turning up and paying, as you would for petrol and diesel, providers of EV charging want you to sign up to their little ‘club’ to use their facilities, perhaps because it gives them a source of data to monetise. But it’s hugely irritating.

That will change over time, but in the meantime BMW is doing its bit to ease the frustration – although you have to join their EV ‘Club’ – with the launch of the BMW Charging and MINI Charging in the UK.

The BMW service ropes in a range of providers – including BP Pulse, ESB, Osprey, Source London, Instavolt and Ionity – to deliver 11,000 UK points (and 173,000 across Europe) with a choice of three different plans to suit how you charge your EV.

If you just want to top-up occasionally when you stray further away from home, then the Flex Tariff gives you access to the whole network of chargers and you just pay monthly for what you use.

If you’re often out and about away from home, then the BP Pulse Package (£7.85pm) gives you cheaper charging ranging from £0.12 per kWh for 22kW charging to £0.27 for 150kW charging, and if you can charge at higher rates then the Ionity Plus Package (£11.30pm) gives you access to the Ionity Network and 350kW charging and rates of £0.22 per kW instead of the (frankly exorbitant) regular cost of £0.69 per kWh.

Buyers of new MINI or BMW EV or Hybrid get the BP Pulse free for a year, and buyers of the BMW iX3 or BMW iX get the Ionity Package free for a year.