BMW of North America is expanding its smart charging service, ChargeForward, to all 48 states in the U.S. The service is designed to encourage drivers to charge their electric vehicles (EVs) during times of high renewable energy production, which can help reduce their carbon footprint and support the electric grid.
ChargeForward is available for all BMW battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) model years 2018 and up. The program is completely free and digital, and drivers can enroll online without the need to install any additional hardware. Once enrolled, ChargeForward will automatically schedule the vehicle to charge during times of high renewable energy production. Drivers can also set their departure time, and ChargeForward will ensure that the vehicle is fully charged by then.
In addition to reducing their carbon footprint, drivers who participate in ChargeForward can also earn cash incentives. There are two types of incentives:
– Cash incentives for participating in up to 10 smart charging events per month.
– Quarterly Carbon Dividend incentives, which are paid out based on total customer participation and total carbon reductions.
In a press release, BMW says that the expansion of ChargeForward is a significant step forward in their commitment to sustainability. The company is also involved in a joint venture called ChargeScape, which will support ChargeForward and connect to even more utilities as a single point of contact. This will allow the program to scale up and integrate with the respective utilities.