BMW has revealed the UK sales network for its electric and hybrid i-brand range of vehicles.

There will be a network of 46 dealers in place which will offer the fully-electric BMW i3 megacity vehicle and the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 sports car. Each centre will have specialist technical capabilities allowing them to carry out repairs to the vehicles’ high voltage batteries. A wider service network is planned to offer extended coverage for the general service, maintenance and repair of BMW i vehicles.

BMW i UK dealerships

Bavarian Lloyd Newcastle
Berry Chiswick North Oxford Garage
Benham Wolverhampton Ocean Plymouth
BMW Park Lane Rybrook Warwick
Bowker Preston Sandal Huddersfield
Broad Oak Canterbury Scotthall Milton Keynes
Chandlers Brighton Soper of Lincoln
Cooper Croydon Specialist Cars Stevenage
Cooper Norwich Stephen James Enfield
Cooper Reading Stratstone Derby
Cooper Teesside Stratstone Leeds
Cooper Tunbridge Wells Sycamore Peterborough
Cotswold Gloucester Sytner Birmingham
Dick Lovett Bristol Sytner Cardiff
Eastern Motor Company Sytner Harold Wood 
Elms Cambridge Sytner High Wycombe
Fairfield Sytner Leicester
Halliwell Jones Warrington Sytner Sheffield
Harry Fairbairn Glasgow Vines of Guildford
Jacksons Jersey Westerly Exeter
John Clark Aberdeen Williams Liverpool
Knights North Staffs Williams Manchester
Lloyd Carlisle Wood of Bournemouth

 

The BMW i3 is BMW’s first fully-electric production car and is due to go on sale in the UK in late 2013.

BMW Group UK managing director, Tim Abbott said customer enquiries about BMW i are already “extremely high” with more than 6,000 people registering their interest in the i-brand.

“With the announcement of our BMW i retail network we are open for business and taking deposits on the i3 and i8,” he said.

“Our BMW i dealerships are located in the areas of the UK with the highest concentrations of population.”
Potential customers can now register their interest with one of the BMW i agents or online at www.bmw-i.co.uk.

As well as the vehicles themselves, BMW i will encompass a range of “premium services” for mobility aimed at optimising the use of parking spaces, recharging infrastructure, ‘smart’ navigation systems, intermodal route planning and access to other BMW vehicles on an ‘on-demand’ basis.

BMW is the first premium vehicle manufacturer to offer such a comprehensive ownership package surrounding electric mobility.
“With BMW i, we are offering game-changing technology that will revolutionise the way we move through a completely new driving and ownership experience,” said Abbott.

The BMW Concept i3 is currently on display in the world’s first BMW i showroom on Park Lane, London. In May, the car will feature at the Wentworth BMW PGA Championship and is then due to appear at the Canary Wharf Motorexpo in June.

The reveal of the BMW i-brand dealer network with physical showrooms across major UK towns and cities does contradict a recent Frost & Sullivan web-conference which claimed “the role of the traditional dealer would be diminished” in relation to sale of the i3 and i8.

According to Sarwant Singh, Frost & Sullivan partner and practice director, visionary innovation research group and automotive & transportation, the BMW’s i3 and i8 cars would likely be sold directly online and feature in digital dealerships much like Audi City.