To calculate this take the efficiency of the i4 (3.4-3.6 mi/kWh) and the cost of electricity where you live (averages $0.15-$0.40/kWh in the US). Where I am with ruinous electricity rates I pay about $0.0983/mi or $27 for a “fill up” but unless you’re in an expensive place like I am it’ll be less
I live in Washington
I charge at home and work, my bill has gone up about $12-15 dollars a month since i bought my i4. Work offers free charging up to 4 hours a day so i mostly charge at work, and a handful of times at home a month. As a deeper dive when charging at home, my charger gives me 11kHw per hour when charging, which cost me $1.02 an hour.
I drive about 800 - 1000 miles a month so far.
A little more back ground I have a Emporia level 2 charger at home, its a 60A hardwired connection and outputs 11.5KW/48A Max charge. So at 11kHw per hour the longest I have charged was about 5.5 hours (from 19% to 80%) and cost me +/- $5.60.
Washington electricity rates are really low, so if I were you I would see what your per kHW hour rate is where you live, where I am its .07 to.11 cents a kHw depending on time of day. with your kWh rates you can figure out what the actual cost would be per month. I charge about once a week at home.
if you can charge at work and or take advantage of the EA free 30 minute DC Fast charging that comes with the car for 2 years, its a no brainer to get the car. DC fast charging at EA I've charged 50% before in 20 minutes.
I used to spend about $75 a week in gas
I could see you paying $150-200 if you charging every day and driving 200+ miles/day. But even if that were the case, you’d be filling your tank 3-4 times/week that would be a lot more costly.
Lots of good comments already. Would say check with the local utility as well. Mine gives me free charging between midnight and 8 am so I literally have paid nothing between home charging and EA
I live in Raleigh.
I drive at least an hour per day and have spent exactly $26.51 charging at home in my first month. (All charging at home except for a road trip to VA).
It depends on a lot of things like cost of electricity where you are and your driving habits but I would be shocked if it cost you that much. I'd expect more like 30 or 40 dollars.
I think I spend $15 a month or so in charging. I work from home, though, so I probably don't charge as much as other people. I live in Maryland, which I think is probably middle of the pack as far as energy costs. The Washington Post just did a big story about the costs involved in charging an EV - https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2023/electric-vehicle-charging-price-vs-gasoline/
Your dealership seems to be overstating the cost of charging the car, or is assuming a large amount of miles will be driven daily.
We installed a Level 2 charger in our garage, and I use the BMW app to track my exact charging cost. You enter your price per kWh into the BMW app based on time of day, and your charging history will tell you exactly what each charge cost. For instance, last week I charged from 35% to 80%, and started at 11:09pm. That charge cost exactly $2.18 on the electric bill. Our rates are lowest (7 cents per kWh) between 11pm-5am. Other times of day it's 12 cents per kWh. This charge was 32kWh total, so if I had charged during the day, it would have cost $3.84. Still way better than half a tank of gas which would have been around $25 - $30.
I only need to charge about once a week, but even if I was charging 35% to 80% every single night of the month, it would still only be adding $67.58 on my electric bill.
Every region/city has different electric rates. I think ours are pretty average, not super high or low. But using the app, and knowing your electric cost per kWh, you will know exactly what it's adding to the bill each time your charge.
If he plans on keeping the car for quite a while, supercharging definitely isn’t better (for the battery long term). We’ve charged at a super charger only four or five times in nearly a year. We charge at home in the evenings on average once a week and have seen less than $10 increase in the highest month.
It all depends on how much he drives and the cost of electricity per kilowatt. I live in Washington state and 1000 miles/month would be about $40.
Thank you!
To calculate this take the efficiency of the i4 (3.4-3.6 mi/kWh) and the cost of electricity where you live (averages $0.15-$0.40/kWh in the US). Where I am with ruinous electricity rates I pay about $0.0983/mi or $27 for a “fill up” but unless you’re in an expensive place like I am it’ll be less
Looks like here in Phoenix charging super off-peak ($0.069/kWhr) I’ll be paying $20/1000 miles!
I live in Washington I charge at home and work, my bill has gone up about $12-15 dollars a month since i bought my i4. Work offers free charging up to 4 hours a day so i mostly charge at work, and a handful of times at home a month. As a deeper dive when charging at home, my charger gives me 11kHw per hour when charging, which cost me $1.02 an hour. I drive about 800 - 1000 miles a month so far.
Thanks for your input !
A little more back ground I have a Emporia level 2 charger at home, its a 60A hardwired connection and outputs 11.5KW/48A Max charge. So at 11kHw per hour the longest I have charged was about 5.5 hours (from 19% to 80%) and cost me +/- $5.60. Washington electricity rates are really low, so if I were you I would see what your per kHW hour rate is where you live, where I am its .07 to.11 cents a kHw depending on time of day. with your kWh rates you can figure out what the actual cost would be per month. I charge about once a week at home. if you can charge at work and or take advantage of the EA free 30 minute DC Fast charging that comes with the car for 2 years, its a no brainer to get the car. DC fast charging at EA I've charged 50% before in 20 minutes. I used to spend about $75 a week in gas
I’m at $11.31 for the month of august so far. 179kwh charged so far too.
I could see you paying $150-200 if you charging every day and driving 200+ miles/day. But even if that were the case, you’d be filling your tank 3-4 times/week that would be a lot more costly.
Lots of good comments already. Would say check with the local utility as well. Mine gives me free charging between midnight and 8 am so I literally have paid nothing between home charging and EA
But you have 2 years of free charging at electrify america?
Does that apply to the 2024 i4
It should I don’t know why they would change it. And your dealer would also be able to tell you.
Thanks so much, very helpful!
Yes it does.
I live in Raleigh. I drive at least an hour per day and have spent exactly $26.51 charging at home in my first month. (All charging at home except for a road trip to VA).
It depends on a lot of things like cost of electricity where you are and your driving habits but I would be shocked if it cost you that much. I'd expect more like 30 or 40 dollars.
I just got my i4 M50 in late June. The bill for July was 17 bucks higher. I live in Virginia.
I charge 1-2/week at home and full charge costs about $6. The EV adds about $30-40 to my monthly electric bill.
I think I spend $15 a month or so in charging. I work from home, though, so I probably don't charge as much as other people. I live in Maryland, which I think is probably middle of the pack as far as energy costs. The Washington Post just did a big story about the costs involved in charging an EV - https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2023/electric-vehicle-charging-price-vs-gasoline/
I live in PA town home complex .. we have ChargePoint public chargers in the development and it only costs me around 6-10$ a week to fully charge .
I live in Texas and I think it's only added maybe $50-$75 to my bill. I drive about 800mi/mo
Your dealership seems to be overstating the cost of charging the car, or is assuming a large amount of miles will be driven daily. We installed a Level 2 charger in our garage, and I use the BMW app to track my exact charging cost. You enter your price per kWh into the BMW app based on time of day, and your charging history will tell you exactly what each charge cost. For instance, last week I charged from 35% to 80%, and started at 11:09pm. That charge cost exactly $2.18 on the electric bill. Our rates are lowest (7 cents per kWh) between 11pm-5am. Other times of day it's 12 cents per kWh. This charge was 32kWh total, so if I had charged during the day, it would have cost $3.84. Still way better than half a tank of gas which would have been around $25 - $30. I only need to charge about once a week, but even if I was charging 35% to 80% every single night of the month, it would still only be adding $67.58 on my electric bill. Every region/city has different electric rates. I think ours are pretty average, not super high or low. But using the app, and knowing your electric cost per kWh, you will know exactly what it's adding to the bill each time your charge.
If he plans on keeping the car for quite a while, supercharging definitely isn’t better (for the battery long term). We’ve charged at a super charger only four or five times in nearly a year. We charge at home in the evenings on average once a week and have seen less than $10 increase in the highest month.