First Standalone BMW Electric-Car Sales Facility Opens--In CA, Of Course

Electric cars are still a rarity in most of North America, and for that matter most of the world.

But California, which has led automotive trends pretty much since the Second War, is different.

Electric cars are increasingly popular there, and they're becoming positively commonplace in Silicon Valley, south of San Francisco.

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Which is why Stevens Creek BMW in Santa Clara this weekend opened the brand's first full-service standalone BMW i facility, devoted exclusively to BMW's plug-in vehicles.

Today, those are the BMW i3 battery-electric and range-extended electric minicar and the sexy BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sport coupe. There will be more models in years to come.

It's right next to a MINI dealership (BMW owns MINI) and in a structure that used to house the dealership's used-BMW sales operations.

For the record, this isn't the first standalone BMW i showroom in the U.S. That honor belongs to Crevier BMW, 380 miles to the south in Santa Ana, California.

But the Stevens Creek BMW site comprises not only a showroom, but also a service facility--and it has a dedicated staff who are not shared with the larger sales effort for conventional BMW models next door.

"Our BMW i facility caters to only the new BMW i3 and the growing electric-car lifestyle in the Bay Area," BMW i sales manager Tiffani Wyatt told Green Car Reports.

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"We have three Level 2 charging stations [using the CCS protocol] 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."