BMW electrifies Thai premium auto sector with new offerings, charging facilities

BMW and MINI won the biggest share of the premium segment with 45.5 per cent in 2021, up from 44.6 per cent the year before. Meanwhile, MINI Electric enjoyed a growth rate of 263 per cent year on year.

“As we are entering a new era of mobility, we remain fully committed to our goal of bringing sheer driving pleasure, cutting-edge technologies, and the power of choice to our customers. This also resulted in hitting the highest record of customer satisfaction as measured via the Net Promoter Score [NPS Score] in terms of sales and services. With a clear goal for the future, we aim to blaze the way for electric mobility, to offer the best experiences for all motorists, including ICE, PHEV and especially BEV users as we move into 2022,” Alexander Baraka, president and CEO of BMW Group Thailand, said.

Erik Ruge, managing director of BMW Group Manufacturing Thailand, added: “2021 was the most successful year ever with a total production of 33,428 units for both BMW and BMW Motorrad. The total production has increased 17.8 per cent, while production for export has increased 11.6 per cent. We are also committed to sustainability through zero-waste-to-landfill and carbon-neutral. For the production part, we have been able to reduce average waste to 35.6 per cent per model with the accumulated waste from recycled and reused 27,208 tonnes since 2014.”

Capturing No 1 spot with ChargeNow

BMW Group electrified vehicles are ranked No 1 in Thailand’s premium electrified segment with a 32.9 per cent segment share. The company has been strongly focused on the sustainable future of mobility in Thailand and is offering a range of electrified vehicles in both plug-in hybrid and all-electric configurations to Thai motorists. BMW Group Thailand has also been collaborating with partners in expanding ChargeNow public charging stations for electric vehicles since 2017 to sustainably drive the adoption of electric mobility in Thailand.

Currently, 130 public charging outlets have been installed in 48 locations nationwide, while 183 charging outlets have been installed at BMW and MINI authorised dealers and the national sales company (NSC) across the country. All owners of plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles can access ChargeNow charging stations under the BMW and MINI network. Furthermore, approximately 2,000 BMW & MINI Wallboxes have been delivered to customers nationwide.

In addition, through collaboration with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and EVolt Technology, customers can now access charging stations with more than 300 chargers. When combined with chargers available through the ChargeNow programme, BMW and MINI authorised dealers, and partners, BMW and MINI customers have access to more than 600 charging points nationwide.

Within the second quarter of 2022, owners of BMW and MINI electric vehicles can access the service via the EVolt application without using ChargeNow cards.