Quote:
Originally Posted by red-sauerkraut
LOL
Good luck finding one that is in fact compatible to this car.
They are mostly nonexistent.
CHAdeMO is the current standard!!
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Most of the plug-in vehicles either being sold or planned to be sold in the next year or two have announced they will use the same connector that BMW chose - they did that for a reason. Nissan Leaf and Tesla have not, at this time, decided to switch. Around where I live, there are more J1772 stations than the alternatives, and none within 100-miles for a Tesla.
As to who and how often you'll get to provide DC fast charging capability to plug in, it's hard to say, but they are coming, but only useful if you have one near you and decided to buy the optional ability for the vehicle. I live all of a bout 1/4-mile from a BMW dealer...not sure what they are putting in, but they have at least two installed now, and don't have any cars yet...demand will dictate how big and how fast the charging network expands. The car manufacturers are likely to be promoting that, if not helping to subsidize it.
BMW's liquid cooling and battery conditioning system is not unique, but isn't then norm - it can go a long ways toward helping to extend the life of the batteries.
One thing to keep in mind, most people will not be regularly trying to recharge the vehicle from near empty, so your time to fully recharge will likely not be the extremes listed. If I remember from the sticker just approved, it says 4-hours for a full recharge. Something not everyone realizes, is that even with level two charge points, they all do not source the max current the vehicle can accept, so that might affect your overall charge time as well.
If I were to put one in, I'd probably consider putting one in that could provide the max the standard allows, then, I'd not have to change it down the line as battery tech or the on-board charging circuits become more capable. Right now, the most the i3 can accept on a level 2 charge point is 32A, but the standard allows for over twice that current.