The first BMW sales facility focused entirely on the company’s electric “i series” recently opened up in Santa Clara, California.
The new Stevens Creek BMW in Santa Clara facility is now well stocked with both the BMW i3 battery-electric (EV) and range-extended electric cars as well as the flashy BMW i8 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sport coupe. Presumably, BMW’s future electric offerings will also find a place at the Stevens Creek showroom.
It should be stated up front, though, to clear any potential sources of confusions, that there was already a standalone BMW i series showroom in Santa Ana — so the new Stevens Creek facility doesn’t represent the first dedicated i Series showroom, but rather the first facility to feature a service facility and staff focused solely on EVs and PHEVs. (Given the issues that have regularly popped up concerning sale rep ignorance about EVs, this last point is key. Being focused solely on electric vehicles, the sales staff should be quite well informed.)
“Our BMW i facility caters to only the new BMW i3 and the growing electric-car lifestyle in the Bay Area,” stated BMW i sales manager Tiffani Wyatt in an interview with Green Car Reports. “We have three Level 2 charging stations that are open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are free to use. And we have a staff of four BMW i Geniuses who are here to educate and provide extensive product knowledge on what BMW is trying to accomplish with the i3.”
An interesting sign of the times. With BMW’s recent comments concerning its highly popular 3 Series going electric, things should get pretty interesting for the Stevens Creek facility in short time (assuming that they’ll sell that series and not just the i series).
Image Credit: Stevens Creek BMW
This service facility will require having all of the 20th century equipment necessary to service internal combustion engines. “Lipstick on a pig.”