A total of 50 Mini Es will be tested by private individuals and companies. 50 volunteer candidates will be recruited via the www.MINI.fr internet site which was unveiled today in Paris. These 50 pioneers will be divided into two groups of 25 people who will take it in turns to test drive the Mini E for a period of six months. 20 Mini Es will be assigned to the partner companies, EDF, Veolia Environnement, and INRETS for use in various pilot programs including fleet applications, internal car-pooling, mode integration and behavioral research.
The Mini E has a range of up to 200 km on a single charge depending on driving conditions, and achieves a top speed of 152 kph, with a maximum output of 204 PS (150 KW). This electric Mini is a two-seater (the back seat and trunk area are filled up by the batteries).
The batteries recharge within 10 hours with a single phase 12 amp outlet, in less than 4 hours with a 32 amp outlet and in less than 2.5 hours with a 50 amp outlet.
The Mini E pioneer users will pay €475 a month for six months to take part in the field trial. This leasing fee includes insurance and accounts for the restrictions due to the trial (2 seats, vehicle maintenance, range, monitoring by INRETS).
Users will have to pay a token fee of €25/month to cover the cost of installing and monitoring a charge station in their homes.
EDF is assisting BMW Group with this first scheme by providing its expertise in vehicle recharging systems. It will be responsible for checking the selected candidates' electric installations (norms/ safety), for installing charging stations, and will also contribute feedback, notably concerning charging and charging installations.
Veolia Environnement will be contributing its know-how in services and mode integration. Mini E field trials with about one hundred of its employees on three sites in the Paris Region will enable it to determine the expectations of corporate customers and further improve the car-pooling management systems set up by its subsidiary Mobizen with Alpha-City (fleet applications, internal car-pooling, replacing taxis and conventional vehicles in cities).
INRETS (the French National Institute for Research on Transport and Safety) will provide scientific validation for the field trial.
The Mini E field trials (2009-2011) and BMW ActiveE trials based on the One Series Coupé (2011-2012), have transformed pilot programs for conventional vehicles into electric pilot programs, enabling the BMW Group to gather vital data that it will apply to the market launch of the first all-electric vehicle designed from scratch-the Megacity Vehicle (MCV).
INRETS and its Nanterre-based partner CEESAR will collaborate with BMW Group's research teams to compare results with the Mini E trials in other countries.
