- The MyBMW app measures 200 trips and tells owners how many could be completed on a single charge in an electric car
When is the best time to switch to an electric vehicle? Should you make the jump soon or wait until new petrol and diesel vehicles are banned and you have no other alternative?
For BMW owners, the decision could be made easier by a new smartphone app that analyses driver behaviour and journeys.
From there, it tells them whether it would be better for them to leave their gasoline or diesel car and change it for an electric vehicle.
It’s the latest example of an automaker deploying new tactics to encourage drivers to transition to battery-powered models at a time when demand for electric vehicles is declining.
Owners of petrol and diesel BMWs who use the carmaker’s official smartphone app will see their journeys tracked so the brand can tell them whether they could live with an electric vehicle.
The company’s MyBMW app has added an ‘EV Analysis’ feature, which is available to all owners of the German brand’s latest cars.
Customers who drive a combustion engine car are said to be able to use the new feature to “simulate how well a fully electric BMW would suit their personal driving profile” in a bid to convince more drivers to splash out on its pricey EV range.
Drivers can select an electric model as an alternative vehicle in the smartphone app.
The EV analytics feature will monitor 200 trips taken by owners and then crunch the numbers on how many of these trips could have been completed using the EV alternative without needing to stop to charge.
BMW says the app will provide its petrol and diesel customers with a “solid basis for deciding what type of driving to choose in their next vehicle.”
Once they have made 200 trips and covered a distance of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles), the analysis will crunch the numbers on how many of these trips could have been completed with the electric vehicle alternative without needing to stop to charge.
The actual fuel consumption of the combustion vehicle will be taken into account, which is collected in the “My Trips” section of the application.
“This is intended to combat range anxiety and concerns about the everyday practicality of fully electric vehicles that are still prevalent today,” BMW said in a statement about the technology.
‘Thanks to this individual database, Electric Vehicle Analysis can offer the customer a solid basis for deciding which type of drive to choose for their next vehicle.’
“Our app’s electric vehicle analysis helps our customers make an informed decision when choosing a drive system,” said Dirk Wiedmann, Senior Vice President, Sales Management, Strategy and Digitalisation, BMW.
BMW promises that the system will be updated in the future so that the app can make even more informed suggestions to drivers about whether they are ready to switch to an electric vehicle or not.
This will include assessments of vehicle non-use time and long-distance travel, along with information on charging facilities and the time required for charging.
However, there is no suggestion that it can provide a financial calculation for when it might be cheaper to own an EV, including how many miles it will travel before the battery-powered alternative pays for its premium price through cheaper electricity costs compared with fueling up with petrol and diesel.
“Electric vehicles can already be easily integrated into the everyday lives of many customers, but most of them have not yet tried them,” says Dirk Wiedmann, Senior Vice President Sales, Strategy and Digital Management.
‘Our app’s EV analysis helps our customers make an informed decision when choosing their drive system.’
The app also alerts users to nearby facilities that have charging stations, such as restaurants, cafes, banks and supermarkets, and has a Charging Wallet that allows users to choose the cheapest rates when connecting to the network.
Last week, This is Money revealed how Carmakers are having to resort to tactics “not seen in the industry for 40 years” in a bid to boost sales of electric vehicles to meet binding targets set by the Government.
The zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate was introduced in January in what ministers called “the world’s most ambitious regulatory framework for the transition to electric vehicles”.
Demanding manufacturers sell more electric vehicles in the run-up to a ban on new petrol and diesel models in 2035 has become the big stick to pressure major car brands to accelerate their green ambitions.
All major carmakers will be required to have 22 per cent of all their sales as electric vehicles by the end of 2024. Those who fail to meet the targets could face a fine of £15,000 each for petrol or diesel cars sold.
Currently, electric vehicles account for just 16.8 percent of the new car market after the first seven months, meaning many brands are a long way from binding thresholds.
As such, car brands are having to resort to increasingly drastic methods of market manipulation to inflate their EV figures, according to one industry expert who spoke to us exclusively.
