Report: BMW opens its first i Store in London
BMW has just made the next biggest step for their latest ‘i’ lineup of electric vehicles. Over in London, the Munich brand has just opened up their first ever BMW i Store, which will feature anything and everything related to the much-anticipated, up and coming i3 and i8 models.
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Click here for more news on the BMW i3.
At the press event commemorating the new store, BMW also announced how they plan to sell its i lineup. The BMW i Stores are apparently just one of the ways the brand plans to sell the i cars. Additionally, BMW will also offer a mobile sales team, an internet-based sales hub, and what they call Customer Interaction Centers or CIS.
To break down what they basically do, a mobile sales person will provide potential customers one-on-one advice on just the BMW i products as a completely separate entity from the usual BMW dealership. A sales advisor will then arrange a test drive at the most convenient store.
Click here for more news on the BMW i8.
BMW also wanted to make sure that every aspect of ownership of an i product was covered. As a result, they also introduced 360 Electric, which is an ownership plan that will cross every ‘t’ and dot every ‘i’ for potential new buyers and current owners.
For instance, there’s also a special application for smartphones that will also provide owners’ with BMW’s Assistant Services. The service provides road-side assistance and information on important points of interest such as the nearest charging point.
Then, there’s Home Charging, where BMW will install a car charger at an owner’s home. Also, if it’s up for grabs, BMW will also source that owner’s electricity from a sustainable source, depending on availability.
Following is Public Charging. BMW openly recognized that there is a lot of work to be done to build up infrastructure for public charging. Though, they dide confirm that they’re hard at work with local authorities and power companies.
The last part of 360 Electric is called Flexible Mobility. With this, owners could receive traditional gasoline BMWs as loaners for times when one’s journey exceeds the traveling distance of their i car.
Sounds like BMW’s doing a thorough job with their sustainability projects. As for when North America gets the i3 and i8, it’s safe to assume that we could see a very similar launch program, if not the same one.
– By: Chris Chin
Source: WhatCar?
