January 18, 2009

Los Angeles, New York City to Get 500 MINI Es

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that BMW is giving the city a fleet of MINI Es as part of a feasibility test. In fact, BMW will be testing 500 electric MINIs worldwide. Other cities included in the program are Los Angeles, London and Berlin.

MINI E is the first product from BMW’s Project i program. Project i takes aim at vehicle and transportation strategies for the world’s mega-cities. The cars will be loaned to both customers and the cities for a full year.

Read our article on BMW’s greenest diesel car yet!

In NYC, the cars will be used by street inspectors. They are responsible for ascertaining street conditions such as potholes and graffiti. Inspectors currently drive up to 100 miles a day.

Luckily, the zero-emission car, powered by a 150 kW electric motor, can travel more than 150 miles on a single charge. And the car’s battery can be fully charged in less than three hours.

Of the 500 cars the BMW Group is providing, 450 of them are being leased to customers who applied online at MINIUSA.com. I was one of those customers. I didn’t qualify as MINI is installing charging units in every customer’s garage, and well…I don’t have one of those.

Since this program tests the viability of the MINI E, I have to wonder if this is a bunch greenwashing. They are taking aim at mega-cities, but how many of us have a garage in big cities like New York or where I live, San Francisco. Maybe I am just bitter.

Without ample charging stations, how successful can this “field test” be? Is it just a way for MINI to say, “Hey..we tried!” What do you think?

The vehicles are scheduled to arrive in April.