At its NextGen event in Munich, BMW has revealed two new initiatives that should encourage more electric inner-city driving by owners of its plug-in vehicles (PHEVs). The schemes are called eDrive Zones and BMW Points. The first is simple: if cities in the near future decide to create zero-emission urban driving zones, then BMW's onboard eDrive Zone software will - through the magic of geo-fencing - recognise that the car is entering an area where it can't run its combustion engine and will automatically switch to electric mode without the driver doing anything. Linked to this, the app, BMW Points, will see drivers of fourth-generation BMW PHEVs being rewarded for how many miles they conduct on pure electric in eDrive Zones and for how often they charge via a high-voltage connection. The more points they accrue, the more rewards they can exchange them for on things like free charging in the future, or parking benefits and so on. Both BMW Points and eDrive Zone features will be available through the brand's Connected Drive Store from 2020, with eDrive Zone software being fitted as standard to all PHEVs from next year onwards.
Matt Robinson - 25 Jun 2019