I spent £62,000 on an electric car but the battery dies in just a few hours… now BMW is refusing to fix it

A DRIVER who spent £62,000 on an electric car is furious as he claims the battery will only last a few hours.

Parents have swapped their BMW X5 diesel for the greener BMW iX3 but are less than impressed with the result.

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He says that not only can it not do cross-country trips without charging, but it also can’t compete with much cheaper models.

And to make matters worse, the driver says the manufacturer blamed the vehicle’s poor performance on factors like use of the air conditioning and heated seats – and is refusing to help.

The unnamed motorist told The Telegraph: “Last year I decided it was time to get an electric car, so I traded in my BMW X5 Diesel for a BMW iX3.

“I wish I hadn’t done it. The battery is said to have a range of 285 miles, but it sometimes performs so poorly that it can only show a maximum range of 145 miles.

“We live in the south and have family in the north of England, but the car doesn’t take us there in one stop.

“We needed nine hours for each route over Christmas. We have three kids and it was a nightmare.”

The Essex driver paid £62,000 for the green engine but “really expected more”.

They say it performs significantly worse than their “brilliant” Peugeot EV, which costs less than half the iX3.

Despite repeated attempts to resolve the issues with the dealership, BMW and BMW Financial Services, nothing has been done, it said.

“I have never experienced such a dismissive attitude in my life,” said the driver.

“We first addressed the issues with the car seven days after purchase and in hindsight I should have turned the car down on the spot.”

The dealership later offered £50,000 for the engine, which isn’t designed for long, high-speed motorway journeys, but the anonymous parents feared they’d just resell it for a hefty profit, which would be “grossly unfair”.

They later agreed to return the driver’s £11,500 deposit, accepting that the £2,600 paid so far would cover the last six months’ running costs

A BMW spokesman said: “An all-electric car will now be the ideal choice for many customers.

“For some customers, a plug-in hybrid or an internal combustion engine vehicle may be a more appropriate choice.

“It is therefore important that both dealers and customers discuss individual needs before each vehicle purchase.”