At the very first public charging station in the US, located at the Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego, California, which offers the SAE Combo-Charging rapid charging system, a BMW i3 was fully charged in less than 30 minutes. BMW i3 drivers, through this optional fast charging system, can charge their EV from a normal 110 volt outlet with a 220 volt charging wallbox, a cord set or a public charging station, apart from a DC Fast Charging public charging station.

Cliff Fietzek, the Manager Connected eMobility at BMW of North America, said at the occasion that the initiations of the public charging stations in the US is a great platform for the launch of the latest BMW i3, as the customers can recharge their vehicles in less than half an hour. It needs to be remembered that conventional charging method requires approximately three hours.

The EV industry and OEMs jointly developed the Combo Charging System, which is predicted to bring about a revolution in the automobile industry. They also worked together in confirming the DC combo-charging standard. General Motors and BMW have worked extremely hard in testing a number of Combo Charging Stations from different suppliers in Germany as well as in the US.

It needs to be mentioned that some other major automobile manufacturers like GM, Ford, Chrysler, Daimler, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche are also looking to adapt to the combo fast charge connector in future. When equipped with the DC Fast Charging option, the DC Combo public charging in the US will be accessible for the all-electric BMW i3.