MINI EV to make it's Debut

[Dunerunner]

Another news flash from Autobloggreen!!
Nov 14th 2008 at 6:27PM by Sam Abuelsamid

The Senior VP of Brand Management Mini, Dr. Wolfgang Armbrecht and Ulrich Kranz, Head of Project i have stated the New Mini E will be unveiled this Wednesday morning in Los Angeles!!
MINI executives talk about the MINI E - AutoblogGreen

[JPaul]

The only thing surprising about the full-electric Mini-E is how much it'll cost to put one in your driveway — $850 a month

Source:
Start Saving Now for Your Mini-E EV | Autopia from Wired.com

[xcrew229x]

Lease only the way I understood it........

[jwight]

The MINI E is basically a beta test for BMW engineers to learn more about how lithium ion-powered plug-in cars perform in real world conditions.

Very much like the Honda Clarity, in that the cars are leased for a small scale test.

[soareyes]

I'm wondering if the Mini E will qualify for the $7500 tax credit for electric/plugin hybrid cars that was included in the recent bailout bill. If so, the effective lease payment then becomes about $225/month. Anyone know?

Stan

[vwW12]

No back seat.

$850/month.

Reminds me of the comments in the current Prius thread here on the forum:

Originally Posted by unicycle

[...]significanty pricier and not worth the difference based on fuel efficiency for most drivers. Its battery even needs replacing, which is costly and which hurts the environment

Originally Posted by forestacademy

[...] It would take a lot of miles to make up the price diference, and by the time you get to those miles (even more miles at todays gas prices) you may have to replace the batteries.

THe environmental impact of creating those bateries is quite high

Originally Posted by SuperGeek

[...] It'd take me over 500,000 miles to make up the difference in fuel cost.

Most definitively a niche market for those who can afford the luxury of paying more money for comparable transportation. It's a status symbol.

[smarticus]

This is a smart thread, what's a "back" seat

[soareyes]

Well, I applied to be one of the leasee's and here is why:

As I mentioned in the previous post, there is a $7500 tax credit that people who lease this car should be able to take on their 2009 tax return. True, you have to wait till next year to take it, which will be about the time the lease is up (March 2009 to March 2010). So the $850/mo lease payment totals $10200 for the year, but is reduced to $2700 when the $7500 is subtracted. MiniUSA is providing the insurance on the car for the year, so subtract (in my case) $600 and you are at $2100/year total. I used MiniUSA's figures for calculating my electric bill increase for charging the car for a year, and subtracted that from what I expected to spend on gas for my Smart, and I get another $400/year savings dropping the Mini E's cost to $1700/year. Mini is providing the charge box for free (there may be a charge if you have to upgrade your house wiring to provide a 220v outlet), and they also providing free roadside assistance if needed. All maintenance is free too.

So for an effective cost of $1700, I think it is worthwhile. Apparently tons of people are applying so my chances are slim, but it would sure be cool to drive one for a year!

Stan

[jwight]

Good point on the 220v outlet; imagine how long it would take to charge up using 110 v.

[soareyes]

Originally Posted by jwight

Good point on the 220v outlet; imagine how long it would take to charge up using 110 v.

I was told 26 hours!

At 220v it is only 3 to 4 hours.