Electric MINI

BMW are building an Electric MINI, which is a little like my Mini. They are making 500 leases available in New York, Los Angeles & New Jersey for the trifling sum of A$1200/month. (Why a New Zealand website is quoting an American price in Australian dollars, I do not know, I've seen US$850/month from a less reputable source) Their car is a two seater because the back seat is full of batteries, my goal is 4 seats. BMW claim 240km range, my goal is 100km of normal driving. BMW are apparently using 5000 small cells while I will be using about 100 larger cells. BMW's car will weigh 1465kg, my goal is 800kg.

This isn't news. What is news, to me at least, is the price. $US850/month is an awful lot of money, but even so, I wouldn't be surprised if they lease them all. The original press release states that the lease will be limited to 1 year plus "an extension option" and the the cars returned to BMW for comparative testing afterwards. At least they are being up-front that the cars won't be sold to customers after the lease expires.