BMW will not proceed with Electric MINI plans

BMW had just decided that they will not proceed with developing MINI’s electric version. They will not ride with the hype of creating electric cars under the MINI brand anymore. But they will be diverting their resources and efforts to a new sub brand.

The reason behind this decision is the fact that the costs of the MINI electric car testing for the past year have gone way too high. The expenses prohibits MINI in developing the electric car.

BMW’s UK head of corporate communications Wieland Bruch disclosed that the cost of developing each electric car would be €100,000 — far too expensive in line with the goal of BMW to lessen manufacturing costs.

The range has also become an issue. The battery of the electric MINI should hold up to 150 miles, but upon observation of the 40 MINI cars that have been used in Britain, the average falls short at 100 miles only. If additional weather constraints are added like winter, the range drops to just 80 miles.

There are still a lot of issues with the battery that needs to be figured out. Of course there is the option of charging the car’s battery, but this will take at least half an hour and will surely interrupt the traveling time of the customers — which is not acceptable under the BMW’s promise of sheer driving pleasure.

In a nutshell, Bruch says that “what we offer for sale has to make money for us. The MINI e would cost too much to produce.” They cannot afford to do what Nissan is doing in heavily subsidizing the cost of their electric vehicle.

But the knowledge gained through the electric MINI project will not go to waste. BMW will divert this to the Megacity project due in 2013. But they will be using an entirely new platform for the Megacity vehicle.

Source: Irish Times