BMW Plug&Charge for electric cars is EASIER (but slower) than filling up with petrol

BMW is to launch ‘Plug&Charge’ in mid-2023, allowing drivers of BMW’s electric vehicles to charge their cars seamlessly.

There’s a lot to like about electric cars – which as we’ve got no choice but to embrace them is a good thing – but one irksome issue is the charging experience.

We won’t bang on again about the often unreliable nature of charging points – even at the largest and best-funded of sites – but that aside a big bugbear is the endless number of Apps and Cards you need if you’re going to charge your car on the go.

Things have improved a bit, but having to sign up to be able to use chargers at many sites, needing an App when you may not always have a signal for your phone, and having umpteen cards to be able to get a charge is irritating, to say the least.

But BMW has a plan to take the pain away – well, some of it – with their new ‘Plug&Charge’ rollout which will allow drivers to charge without needing any Apps or any cards.

You’ll be able to store all the accounts you’ve signed up for – well, five of them – and the new Plug&Charge setup will automatically send details to the supplier as soon as you plug in, meaning you literally plug in, wait – and wait – and then drive off.

It’s a sensible answer to a problem which shouldn’t exist – but does – and will make it easier for family cars driven by more than one member of a household and company cars used by more than one driver.

BMW says the new Plug&Charge setup will launch in mid-2023.