Is BMW i8 & i3 Selling Like Hotcakes in South Africa?
Tech Financials look at the sales of the battery electric BMW i3 and the PHEV BMW i8 in South Africa.
Possibly aiding sales is the commitment BMW have put into charging infrastructure in the country. They have so far 54 charging stations and have signed a memorandum of understanding with Nissan, the only other local manufacturer offering a fully electric vehicle, to jointly expand the local charging network.
This shows that both companies are showing a long term commitment to plug-in electric vehicles in South Africa. There won't be, nor should there be, mass sales of electric vehicles until the charging infrastructure is in place first. When the consumer buys an electric vehicle, he or she needs to know there are ample places to charge their vehicle. Nobody is going to buy an electric car if they don't know where they're going to be able to charge it. The last thing the electric car cause needs is frustrated consumers not being able to locate chargers or having to queue to use a charger because there are insufficient numbers of chargers.
Tech Financials look at the sales of the battery electric BMW i3 and the PHEV BMW i8 in South Africa.
Since market introduction in March 2015, a total of 419 BMW i models have been delivered to customers in South Africa, according to BMW South Africa. They said in a statement that the BMW i3 alone has sold 203 units, making it the most successful EV, while the BMW i8 ranks first among PHEVs with a total of 216 units delivered to customers.Though not mind blowing figures, they are significant amounts. It equates to just under 10 of each model per month the past two and a bit years. Considering the i3 comes in around about R600,000, depending on the variant and the i8 is a wallet lightening R1,750,000, I'd say sales are pretty impressive.
Possibly aiding sales is the commitment BMW have put into charging infrastructure in the country. They have so far 54 charging stations and have signed a memorandum of understanding with Nissan, the only other local manufacturer offering a fully electric vehicle, to jointly expand the local charging network.
This shows that both companies are showing a long term commitment to plug-in electric vehicles in South Africa. There won't be, nor should there be, mass sales of electric vehicles until the charging infrastructure is in place first. When the consumer buys an electric vehicle, he or she needs to know there are ample places to charge their vehicle. Nobody is going to buy an electric car if they don't know where they're going to be able to charge it. The last thing the electric car cause needs is frustrated consumers not being able to locate chargers or having to queue to use a charger because there are insufficient numbers of chargers.
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