Every automaker has ambitions to get a bigger piece of the electric car market in China, and since the segment itself is on the cusp of a game-changing boom, that’s exactly what we’re seeing from a company like BMW. The German automaker is announcing a massive expansion to its charging network in China with plans to install more than 80,000 charging poles in over 100 Chinese cities. The company’s goal is to have these poles up-and-running when its fleet of new electric cars hit the market in the coming years.

BMW isn’t messing around in China. As of 2017, the German automaker already has more than 65,000 charging poles in more than 90 Chinese cities. That’s an impressive number when you consider that it accounts for roughly 14 percent of the more than 440,000 charging poles that are in the country as we speak. Now it’s planning to add 8,000 more charging poles to its total as part of a wide-scale expansion plan that’s tied into its future electric car offerings in the country.

“BMW is already the market leader of the premium electric car segment and will continue to lead e-mobility development,” Martijn Oremus, head of brand management, new energy vehicles at BMW Brilliance, told reporters.

Part of BMW’s new charging pole expansion involves rolling out its latest Charging Station Callbox, which is reportedly capable of charging the i3’s battery from dry to 8 percent capacity in a little under four hours. In addition, these charging poles will help address the company’s 1,680-hour or two-year free charging service to car owners who don’t have their own private charging poles in some of the biggest cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Chengdu. There’s no going around BMW’s plan to expand its electric car footprint in China, even if it takes the form of growing the number of charging poles it has in the country.

It’s not like Bimmer’s the only one doing it, either. Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler recently acquired a 3.93 percent stake in Beijing Electric Vehicle Co., as part of a bigger investment in the Chinese electric car market. Specific details of that partnership weren’t disclosed, but it’s no accident that the German automaker is tying up with a company that already has almost 80,000 charging poles in the country.

Volkswagen’s another auto giant that’s keen on amassing a significant share of the all-electric car market in China. The second biggest automaker in the world recently announced a $28 billion investment package over the next five years that will address the future viability of its production facilities all over the world, specifically those located in China.

References

BMW i8

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW i8 Coupe.

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW i8 Roadster.

BMW i3

Read our full review on the 2018 BMW i3.

Read more BMW news.