BMW’s US unit has claimed it will be the world’s first premium car manufacturer to “deploy a fleet of some 500 all-electric vehicles for private use in daily traffic”.
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It said on Monday the new Mini E would be powered by a 150kW (204 hp) electric motor with a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery, transferring its power to the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox nearly “without a sound and entirely free of emissions”.
Specially engineered for automobile use, the battery technology would have a range of over 240km or 150 miles.
The Mini E will initially be made available to a selected group of private and corporate customers as part of a pilot project in the states of California, New York and New Jersey.
“The possibility of offering the Mini E in Europe as well is currently being considered,” BMW said.
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By GlobalDataThe electric Mini will make its world debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show on 19 November.
The electric drive train produces peak torque of 220Nm and the car accelerates to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.5 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 152 km/h (95 mph).
The suspension has been re-tuned to match weight distribution.
“By introducing the Mini E, the BMW Group is underscoring the resolve with which it works towards reducing energy consumption and emissions in road traffic,” the automaker said.
“The BMW Group is drawing on its unique technological expertise in the field of drive systems to develop a vehicle concept enabling zero emissions without renouncing the joy of driving.
“Putting some 500 cars on the road under real daily traffic conditions will make it possible to gain widely applicable hands-on experience. Evaluating these findings will generate valuable know-how, which will be factored into the engineering of mass-produced vehicles.”
Based on the current petrol and diesel models, the electric Mini initially will be available only as a two-seater – the space taken by rear seat passengers in the series model is occupied by the lithium-ion battery which has a maximum capacity of 35 kilowatt hours (kWh) and sends energy to the electric motor at 380 volts DC.
The rechargeable battery is made up of 5,088 cells grouped into 48 modules in three battery elements.
The battery can be recharged via a domestic power outlet though charge time is strongly dependent on the voltage and amperage of the electricity flowing through the grid, BMW said.
US users will be able to recharge a battery that has been completely drained “within a very short period of time” using a wall box that will ship with every car. Installed in the customer’s garage, this enables higher amperage, and thus short charging times – two-and-a-half hours for a full recharge, draw up to 28 kwH.
Based on the car’s range, a kilowatt hour translates into 5.4 miles.
As with Toyota’s hybrids and recent BMW EfficientDynamics models, regenerative technology is used on the Mini E.
As soon as the driver releases the accelerator pedal, the electric motor acts as a generator, resulting in braking force, and the power recovered from the kinetic energy is fed back to the battery – in city traffic, some 75% of all deceleration can be done without the brakes and the “energy recuperation feature” extends the car’s range by up to 20%.
As well as minor tweaks to suspension and traction control settings, the the Mini E gets a brake system comes with newly developed electric underpressure pump. The electric power steering is unchanged and air conditioning’s electrical compressor only operates if desired or necessary.
Initial Mini Es will all have special two-tone silver paint and a yellow logo depicting a stylized power plug in the shape of an ‘E’ set against the silver backdrop in various locations.
A battery level indicator replaces the rev counter while the central gauge cluster gains an LED display indicating power consumption in red and power recuperation in green.
Mini USA will offer the 500 trial cars – all of which will be built by the end of 2008 – on a one-year lease with an extension option. Monthly lease instalments will cover any required servicing including all necessary maintenance and the replacement of wearing parts.
At the end of the lease, all will be returned to BMW Group’s engineering fleet where they will be subjected to comparative testing.
A service base will be set up on both coasts, staffed by engineers specially trained to maintain and repair electrical components.
Technical inspections will take place after 3,000 miles (5,000km) and at least after six months.
