BMW has recently unveiled a new supercharger that could soon create an electric-car charging station bigger than Tesla’s own.
The plans for this supercharger demonstrate BMW’s pledge to not only commit to, but potentially dominate the luxury electric vehicle market.
The supercharger is said to be 31 inches high, 19 inches wide and 12 inches deep and will produce 24 kilowatts. In comparison to most other chargers, the supercharger is small and not only that, it’s light too. The charger weighs in at only 100 pounds and can be mounted on interior or exterior walls without much structural modification. The supercharger will charge a battery to about 80 per cent capacity in just 30 minutes and is inexpensive, costing just over $7000.
The supercharger, to be named BMW i DC fast charger, will feature the SAE Combo 1 plug inlet. This inlet, unlike the connector used by Tesla, is used by a number of other electric car manufacturers including Audi, Chrysler, Ford, GM and Volkswagen. The benefit of this is that many cars will be able to use BMW’s new charging stations and will make owning an electric car easier and make selling electric cars, such as the new BMW i3 and BMW i8, easier as well.
This battery development is not the first for BMW. The automaker has been working alongside its German rival, Mercedes-Benz, on the development of a wireless charging station. BMW has also been in talks with electric-car giant Tesla Motors on sharing technologies to help increase electric vehicle sales.
It is not clear if BMW is trying to become the new name in luxury electric vehicles, but considering the positive history with what would typically be competition, the overall message is that the manufacturer is committed to promoting the sales of electric cars.
