BMW has been hard at work trying to bring out a more holistic app for your phone, through which you can optimize the way you use your car. We already had BMW’s Connected App but the new BMW Connected eDrive Services offering is aimed at helping out those using electric or hybrid cars from the Bavarian brand, working in tandem with the BMW Digital Charging Service.

Starting this summer, BMW’s optional Connected eDrive Services will cover all digital services that help optimize comfort, everyday practicality and efficiency in vehicles that are electrically powered. This new optional equipment feature will be available from July 2018 for the BMW i3 and the BMW i3s, the BMW i8 Coupé and the BMW i8 Roadster as well as for the BMW 225xe iPerformance and the BMW 530e iPerformance.

It includes Remote Services, which allows the doors to be remotely locked and unlocked, and also eDrive Services complete with charging station search, as well as enabling the range and charge status to be displayed on a smartphone. What is more, the BMW Digital Charging Service can be used in the first three years after the car has been newly registered. This enables intelligent charging with optimized cost efficiency and preferential use of self-generated solar power.

All in all, this new solution aims at lowering your ownership costs as well as offering you a gateway to your car from the comfort of your home, by using your smartphone. Some of the functionalities were already available through the BMW Display Key or the BMW Connected App but you can now have it all together thanks to one unified solution.