BMW is teaming up with the National Park Service and the Department of Energy to expand America’s EV charging network. Out of America’s 417 national parks, up to 100 new charging stations are going to be installed. BMW says these stations will be compatible with every electric car sold in America.
Ludwig Willisch, the head of BMW Group Region Americas said in a press conference, “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the next 100 years of both the BMW Group and National Park Service than by making America’s national parks more accessible to drivers of electric vehicles.”
BMW’s press release invokes the name of Thomas Edison and likens their initiative to Edison’s effort in making electric power widely available. Appropriately, the press conference took place at Thomas Edison National Historic Park located in West Orange, New Jersey.
Currently, the only EVs BMW makes are the i3 compact and the i8 sports car. iPerformance plug-in hybrid Bimmers with eDrive are available as a 3, 5, or 7 series or as an X5 crossover. For camping and weekend adventures to America’s beautiful national parks, we’d recommend the X5 xDrive40e. If you prefer some British flair, there’s an eDrive Mini Countryman with all-wheel drive coming this summer.
Specific sites for the new charging stations are still to be determined. This collaboration is going to look at all 417 national parks and figure out where charging stations make the most sense. Criteria include driving distances and visitor demand. The lower the regional EV density, the less likely that park is to get a new charging station.