Europcar introduces BMW i3 to Cape Town fleet.

Midrand.  BMW i3, South Africa’s most successful electric car, will now be available for rent from Europcar’s Cape Town International Airport branch. A small fleet of BMW i3s with the Range Extender (REX) will be made available for customers to rent from mid-December 2016, making this the first time a car rental company in South Africa is offering the BMW i3 in its fleet to be driven by customers.

“We have introduced the fully-electric, 0% emissions BMW i3 to our fleet, with sustainability in mind and looking at future trends in mobility. The BMW i3 is a unique, cost effective and innovative vehicle option for our customers”, explains Jody Naidoo, Divisional Fleet Procurement Executive for Europcar.

Naidoo says the addition of the BMW i3 adds another dimension to the Europcar fleet, which boasts over 20 000 vehicles at more than 100 locations across Southern Africa.   

The BMW i3 REX features a 650cc two-cylinder petrol engine with an output of 28kW (electric motor: 125kW), which maintains a minimum charge level and boasts a range of up to 300 kilometres. It is the BMW Group’s first volume-produced model driven purely by electric power and introduces a new era of mobility for urban dwellers looking for alternative mobility solutions. It is the only vehicle worldwide that uses 70% less water, 50% less energy and 100% renewable electricity for production compared to a conventional BMW in the Leipzig plant.

Since the successful market launch of the BMW i brand in South Africa in March 2015, a total of 154 BMW i3s and 182 BMW i8s have been delivered to customers. To date BMW i3 is the most successful electric vehicle in the local market. On 3 November 2016, the BMW Group reached a milestone of delivering more than 100,000 pure electric-powered cars and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to customers worldwide. The BMW i3 alone has sold more than 60,000 units, making it the most successful electric vehicle in the premium compact segment. 

In November 2016, Avis introduced three BMW i3s to its Point 2 Point fleet in Johannesburg – a service that provides customers a professional destination chauffeur service in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. In addition they also introduced four BMW i8s to their Luxury Fleet as part of their ongoing initiative to lower emissions and introduce alternative energy vehicles into its rental fleet.

“The local and global success of the BMW i models offers clear evidence of the growing interest in sustainable personal mobility. Achieving even greater market penetration of all-electric and plug-in hybrid drive systems depends not only on attractive cars but also committed rental companies like Europcar,” says Mr Tim Abbott, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BMW Group South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

As part of the expansion of its 360° ELECTRIC portfolio for BMW i Home and Public Charging Services, BMW South Africa became the first market within the global BMW Group network to roll out solar carport charging. 

“With the roll out of the BMW i solar carport, the BMW Group is demonstrating its commitment of shaping the future of individual mobility and continuing to enable customers to have easy access to an extensive charging network. With innovative services like the solar carport, BMW is the first vehicle manufacturer to offer such a broad-based EV smart charging product to reduce costs for customers,” says Abbott.

For more information about BMW i, visit www.bmw.co.za/bmwi.

BMW Group South Africa Corporate Communications:

Thando Pato

Manager: Product Communications (MINI, BMW i and BMW Motorrad)

BMW Group South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Tel:  +27-12-522-2070

Mobile:  +27-71-666-2070

Email:  thando.pato@bmw.co.za

Amy Davis

Europcar: Marketing Manager

Tel: +27-11 479 4000

Email: amy.davis@europcar.co.za

Media websites:

Global: www.press.bmwgroup.com

South Africa: www.press.bmwgroup.com/south-africa  

The BMW Group

With its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of cars and motorcycles and provider of premium financing and mobility services. It operates internationally with 30 production and assembly plants in 14 countries and a global sales network represented in more than 140 countries.

During the financial year 2015, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.247 million cars and some 137,000 motorcycles worldwide. Group profit before tax reached € 9.22 billion on revenues totalling € 92.18 billion € 92.18 billion. At 31 December 2015, the BMW Group had a workforce of 122,244 employees.

Long-term thinking and responsible action have long been the foundation of the BMW Group’s success. Ecological and social sustainability along the entire value-added chain, full responsibility for our products and an unequivocal commitment to preserving resources are prime objectives firmly embedded in our corporate strategy.

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