Green News

City of New York to field-test ten electric Minis

January 15, 2009

2010 Mini E. Click image to enlarge

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2010 Mini E

New York, New York – A fleet of ten Mini E electric vehicles will roam the streets of New York, beginning in April, part of the 500 Mini E models the BMW group is producing as part of a one-year pilot field study. The ten cars are on loan to the city and will be used in its Street Condition Observation Unit, or SCOUT, in which inspectors drive the city looking for street conditions such as potholes and graffiti.

The vehicles are scheduled to begin arriving in April. The news was announced by mayor Michael Bloomberg in his State of the City speech.

“We are delighted to work with New York City in developing this new form of sustainable transportation,” said Jim McDowell, vice president of Mini USA. “Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative has demonstrated a keen understanding of the importance of sustainability, and we fully share the same vision and enthusiasm for developing new ideas, technologies and forms of transportation to make it a reality. This Mini E zero-emission vehicle is only our company’s first step.”

The Mini E can travel more than 150 miles (240 km) on a single charge, and is powered by a 150 kW electric motor with the equivalent of 201 horsepower. The energy supply comes from a high-performance, rechargeable lithium-ion battery. A special wall box, installed in a customer’s garage, can fully recharge a completely drained battery in two and a half hours.

The 500 Mini E models will be deployed in New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles, with additional vehicles tested in Berlin, Germany, and London, England. Of the 500 U.S. vehicles, 450 will be leased to customers that applied online to be part of the study. The others will be dedicated to full-time extensive and intense daily use in select fleets. The SCOUT operators drive almost 160 km per day.