Africa's 187,000-Mile BMW i3 Proves EVs Can Work Anywhere

As the world realizes the damage global warming is doing to mother earth, legislators are scurrying to try and fix the damage done to the environment. Electric vehicles are part of the rescue plan. Most manufacturers are making the switch over to EVs, and BMW plans todouble its EV sales in 2022. Its current EV lineup includes the i4, the iX, and until recently, the baby of the bunch, theBMW i3, which wasdiscontinued in the USafter a fairly long run in the market. The i3 is BMW's first mass-produced zero-emissions vehicle, and elsewhere in the worldis still going strongis proving that humans can form long-term relationships with EVs. A South African i3 owner has just crossed the 187,000-mile mark (301,998 km), proving if it can be done in SA, EVs can work just about anywhere.

Shaun Maidment bought his BMW i3 in 2016, and has since then covered an impressive amount of ground, and it is believed that his i3 is the highest mileage version in Africa. Shaun's i3 has been on some serious road trips, and he even managed to complete a trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town (about 870 miles) before the idea of a fast-charging network even existed in South Africa. There's a slight caveat in that his i3 is fitted with a small gas-powered range extender, but with an EPA range of only 150 miles, been in this form, Shaun had to stop at a ton of roadside shops to beg and plead for some electric juice, and finally managed to complete the trip in five days.