Electric MINI E’s field trials prove the future is Megacity

Field trials sound death knell of electric MINI E 

BMW have been conducting field trials using the electric MINI (MINI E) in the UK. In mid September 2010, the company announced its preliminary findings.

The MINI E

The MINI E is a two seater development of the MINI Hatch.  It is powered by a 204hp electric motor and driven by a 35 kWh lithium-ion battery. The battery charger used in the field trials was a special home unit enabling a charge time of 2.4 hours at 50 amps.  The MINI E has a top speed of 95mph and an official range of 149 miles, although BMW say that a realistic range is 112 miles.

It’s not surprising that by far the majority of users (89%) gave longer journeys as their reason for not using their MINI E. And with only two seats and minimal luggage capacity, two thirds quoted limited space as their reason for not using their MINI E on odd occasions.

Having said that, the government’s National Travel Survey reveals that the average single trip length for car users in the UK is 8.6 miles, a distance almost exactly matched by MINI E drivers at 8.5 miles. Only 2% of single trips are above 35 miles. The Office for National Statistics confirms that 22.8 miles is the average private daily mileage across the UK, while MINI E experience is 26.7 miles.

So users’ concerns before the trials began regarding range limitations were only applicable in a small minority of cases. For the majority of trips and daily journeys the MINI E fitted actual usage requirements.

Charging the battery

The process of charging MINI E from the charging box supplied and fitted at users’ homes was convenient and appreciated by the MINI users. This is not surprising as the special home charger enabled a charge time of only 2.4 hours at 50 amps. BMW does not tell us how much it costs. On average the cars were charged every two to three days. Two thirds of users charged their car three times a week or less while, remarkably, only 6% charged daily.

Will people pay more for an electric vehicle?

Almost half of the users stated that they would pay one third more than a conventional MINI. This implies a UK acceptable price of around £16,000.  The strength of purchase intention would be increased with improvements to luggage and passenger space.

But, here again, this is not surprising when the 40 MINI users were from the South East of England, predominantly highly-educated males aged 35 and over, earning above average income and with a high level of interest in ecological issues. They are precisely the category of people who are likely to pay more for an EV. The research does not therefore tell us whether the average new car buyer would pay more for an electric vehicle, nor how much more.

The future is the Megacity, not the MINI E

BMW is using the research findings to develop the Megacity, a purpose-designed, fully electric car to be introduced in 2013. BMW engineers are developing a revolutionary LifeDrive concept that comprises a completely new vehicle architecture adapted to the demands of future sustainable mobility. LifeDrive consists of two horizontally separated, independent modules. The Drive module integrates the battery, drive system and structural and crash functions into a single construction within the chassis.

Its partner, the Life module, consists primarily of a high-strength and extremely lightweight passenger cell made from Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastics. This bodywork not only provides immense strength but is also extremely light. Using this form of construction will reduce car weight by 250 to 350kgs which in turn will offset almost all the extra weight created by the batteries. BMW says that the Megacity will be the first volume-produced automobile to employ the significant benefits afforded by carbon technology.

The MINI E has proved its worth as a research subject. The electric Megacity, designed from the ground, up will be able to address most of the criticism on the MINI E’s packaging and driving range. So this is one application in which the versatile MINI cannot prove a realistic proposition.