BMW Pitches Free EV Charging And You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet

---

Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription, on Patreon, or on Stripe. Help us produce all of the high-quality, original content we publish week after week despite the challenges of content-scraping AI, antisocial media, inflation, and other hurdles.

---

EV sales in the US are beginning to tick up again, and BMW is determined to grab a slice of the action. The German automaker has begun offering a free EV charging package to anyone who purchases a 2027 BMW i5, BMW i7, or BMW iX3. The package includes $500 in charging credits, which seems like small potatoes compared to the cost of a BMW. Still, it’s better than nothing, and it positions the company to compete in a rapidly evolving landscape that includes free charging hours.

Free Hours And EV Charging

The “free hours” trend has already emerged in the US, where Texas (of course!) is an epicenter of activity. The idea is to smooth out peak weekday demand spikes and take advantage of spare capacity on the grid by offering ratepayers an incentive to use more electricity during nighttime hours, with the leading utility Constellation being a representative example.

“When you sign up for a free night electricity plan, a smart meter monitors your energy usage by time of day,” Constellation explains. The company offers a “Free Power Hours” plan between midnight and 4 a.m. every night.

“Constellation also offers Discounted Nights & Fair Days, with discounted electricity supply rates from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.,” the company adds.

Constellation notes that standard service charges and other fees apply. They also advise that the free plan is not a good fit for households with heavy electricity use during the day, when higher rates apply.

Still, access to EV charging at a minimal cost is a tantalizing incentive for some households. Constellation currently offers its “FreeCharge” plan between midnight and 4 a.m. to ratepayers in Pennsylvania as well as Texas.

A $500 EV Charging Credit From BMW

Against this backdrop, a mere $500 EV charging credit for a BMW is not much of an incentive, at least not in states where free hours are available. The monthly lease for the 2027 BMW i5, for example, clocks in at almost $750. Purchasing the car outright will set you back almost $70,000, including the destination fee.

Still, any incentive is better than no incentive, and the new offer provides BMW an opportunity to hitch its star to the free hours trend. “The new offer, available beginning November 5, 2026, is designed to make public charging simpler, more convenient and more affordable for BMW customers,” explains BMW.

“The package includes a $300 BMW Charging Network credit that can be used at participating charging providers1, as well as a separate $200 credit for charging at IONNA locations,” the company elaborates, with IONNA referring to a consortium of EV makers (including BMW) focused on improving the driver experience at charging stations.

In addition to the $200 IONNA credit, BMW is also offering a one-year IONNA membership plan that provides for a 25% charging discount.

For the record, the BMW Charging Network includes more than 180,000 charging stations compatible with the company’s My BMW app.

BMW: You Gotta Belieeeeeeeve…

Over and above the EV charging package, BMW is also among the electrification stakeholders that did not throw in the towel after last year’s EV sales crash. Despite the premature demise of the federal EV tax credit on September 30 of 2025, the number of public EV charging stations in the US has continued to increase, and charging networks have become more sophisticated and convenient.

In addition to the hookup with IONNA, for example, the BMW Charging Network includes Shell Recharge, Electrify America, ChargePoint, and EVgo among others.

“The company also has invested in Plug & Charge, which simplifies the charging experience; and ChargeScape, a collaborative effort to help manage the flow of energy between EVs and the power grid,” BMW added in a press statement last week.

Next Steps For EV Charging In The US

ChargeScape represents another indication that Trump’s war against EVs was over before it started, tax credits or not.

ChargeScape launched three years ago as a joint venture between BMW, Ford, and the US branch of Honda. “Benefiting both EV customers and the electric utility industry in the U.S. and Canada, ChargeScape will unlock entirely new value that EVs can provide to the electric grid, while enabling EV customers to earn financial benefits through a variety of managed charging and energy-sharing services never before possible with traditional gasoline-powered vehicles,” the three automakers enthused in a press statement dated December 29, 2023.

“ChargeScape’s platform will give electric utilities access to EV battery energy across a wide pool of EVs. Participating EV customers will have the potential to earn financial benefits by charging at ‘grid-friendly’ times through flexible and managed schedules,” the partners elaborated.

“The development of this project comes at a time when electric vehicle sales and infrastructure growth are ramping up quickly,” the partners added.

That was certainly an optimistic take on the future of EV sales in the US, but that was December of 2023. Just about one year later, then-candidate Donald Trump sailed to victory on Election Day 2024, winning a second turn around the Oval Office with a plan to stop the vehicle electrification trend in its tracks.

Still, ChargeScape soldiered on. By September of 2024 the alliance was ready for launch, to be joined by Nissan just one month later. ChargeScape also added the startup Rivian to its rolls in June of this year, with an option to add bidirectional EV charging. Other automakers, including Tesla, also use the platform.

The bidirectional charging element is where things get particularly interesting. The technology emerged in the early 2000’s, enabling EV drivers to power their home from their car battery, or send electricity to the grid. Unlocking the mass market potential of bidirectional charging is a next-level challenge, and the free hours trend could help accelerate uptake. With free hours EV charging, drivers can store electricity at minimal cost during those periods, and discharge it to trim the cost of electricity for their homes during periods when higher electricity rates apply.

Ford is particularly excited about the potential for bidirectional charging to scale up. The company’s forthcoming Ford Fathom electric pickup truck comes with an internal inverter that converts the DC charge from the battery into an AC current for home use. The built-in inverter eliminates the cost of the external, wall mounted inverter otherwise needed for bidirectional charging at home.

Photo: BMW is sweetening the EV charging pot with a $500 charging credit on its 2027 i5, i7, and iX3 electric cars in the US (courtesy of BMW).