My BMW App Updated to Help ICE Car Drivers Imagine Using an Electric Car

BMW has updated its My BMW app for Android and iOS with a new Electric Vehicle Analysis section that might help owners of combustion-engine cars switch to an electric model. The app can now analyse data from an owner’s drives and extrapolate what the experience would have been like on an equivalent electric vehicle. The company says this could help alleviate some potential buyers’ range anxiety and other concerns about the practicality of owning and using a new type of car. Since the majority of ICE-engine car drivers have not had a chance to try using an electric vehicle as their everyday car, the company hopes such simulations will help them imagine a possible future with one. 

The tool works by analysing all the real-world data that can be seen in the My Trips section of the My BMW app. Users will need to be running BMW Operating System 7 or newer, and select an all-electric BMW model that they might be interested in or that would suit their usage pattern. No data is used without the owner’s consent. Analysis can be performed after the ICE car running this software has been driven for 200 trips and at least 2,000 km.

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The my BMW app will then show its user how many of these journeys could have been completed on a single charge with the chosen electric model, thus creating a personalised report with information specific to them and their usage patterns. According to the company, the feature will be expanded over time to include information such as evaluations of long-distance trips with information about charging stations and time needed per charge, and reports about how long the car is and isn’t in use. 

BMW has also added a few other features to its app with this update. Route planning has been improved with a new seamless experience across the app and the in-car navigation system. Users can now also set options in the app, such as preferring to avoid toll roads and ferries. EV drivers can now add charging stops along a route individually, and can see information about restaurants, banks, supermarkets and other points of interest near their charging locations. Settings and changes are synchronised between the app and in-car system.

In supported locations, a new charging wallet can be used to manage tariffs, so an EV driver will be able to see applicable prices across a range of charging network providers.