Official Thread [Official] MINI Electric Concept

[EnI]

The car is extremely fun to drive. It's a typical MINI driving experience as known from Cooper S + even lower centre of gravity for better stability + swift electric drive for quick urban accelerations (0-60kmh) + aggressive braking in one-pedal operating mode.

It's set for typical MINI motoring. Yet its limited range makes it more like an urban automobile only - which is exactly what the aim was. Car sharing providers in general are very interested to add the car in their portfolio.

Still mind this is a "transitional product". The first true BEVs - with BEV specific platform & new gen of eDrive & batteries - will come with next gen MINIs, based on new FAAR WE architecture (allowing a specific BEV-oriented platform spin-off) and on a platform co-developed with Great Wall for mini-MINI (Rocketman?) which will be exclusively electric.

 

[Serpens]

Looks like like an MMA Teletubby about to spit its gum guard out.

Spot. On.

 

[EnI]

What’s the Mini Electric like to drive?

We were among the first journalists to drive a production-spec Mini Electric, albeit for a brief run around the 1.475-mile Formula E Brooklyn Street Circuit at limited speed. That said, it was enough to confirm initial impressions from our previous run in a prototype: that electric propulsion suits a Mini very well.

The instant torque offered by an electric motor makes for rapid progress at all speeds, while BMW’s new ARB traction control system ensures that delivery is kept smooth. With its capability to make rapid progress, it definitely has an air of Mini Cooper S about it.

The steering is also pleasing direct, the machine responding well to rapid direction changes and betraying little signs of the extra weight of the batteries contained low down in the car. It rides well, too, soaking up the many bumps and rough surfaces that feature on a street circuit laid out on the ageing roads of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

It didn’t feel quite as direct or nimble as the smaller Honda E did from our brief time in a prototype version of that car, although the Mini Electric is bigger and more practical, and could perhaps prove more versatile beyond tight city streets.

The three drive modes – Standard, Mid and Sport – carried over from the regular Mini adjust the performance as you’d expect, although it will take a longer run to really explore the differences in all conditions.

The Mini Electric also offers adjustable levels of energy recapture under braking, as with many electric cars. In the higher setting it’s possible to drive the machine largely without touching the brake pedal, the recapture quickly slowing the car enough for all but the tightest turns. Again, it’s a driving style that is well-suited to the characteristics that have long underpinned the Mini brand.


Is the Mini Electric worth considering?

It will take a longer run on real-word roads to truly judge the Mini Electric, but what’s clear is that everything customers like about the hatch – from the retro styling to the nimble handling – hasn’t been harmed by the switch to an electric powertrain. In some cases, it has arguably been improved.

With UK pricing starting from around £24,400, the Mini Electric is set to cost less than the equivalent-spec petrol Cooper S. Potential buyers will need to weigh up whether they can live with that range of around 125 miles. If they can, early signs are that the Mini Electric offers everything you’d expect from a Mini - just more quietly.

First drive: 2019 Mini Electric driven on track | Autocar

 

[dalab]

Now that they announced that in 2030 they want MINI to be all electric, taking into account the the 40.000 "interest" for this SE, the 25 electrified that it is intended to have in 2023 and the success that the Z4 is having, it will not be time to make the beautiful MINI Superleggera? nobody remembers but it was an electric concept, with that, more the Rocketman already announced and an SUV EV smaller than the Countryman fix the MINI brand once and for all, I do not know why I'm not hired as a consultant

 

[hovabongZA]

Won’t be surprised to see this in future BMW EVs.

https://jalopnik.com/heres-zfs-new-two-speed-transmission-for-electric-cars-1836428183

 

[EnI]

Won’t be surprised to see this in future BMW EVs.

Hardly.

BMW's modular all-in-one 5th Gen eDrive unit has been developed & will be build completely in-house.

It's features a single-speed transmission (torque reductor), EPU + other electronics, and e-motor with absolutely no rare earths. So, no NdFeB permanent magnets whatsoever in 5th Gen eDrive e-motor (premiering in iX3).

Eg. the i3 is already using a "hybrid" type of e-motor: a Permanent Magnet (Assisted) Synchronous Reluctance Motor ... still using some Neodymium-based permanent magnets together with ferrites (thus "hybrid" designation).

The new 5th Gen eDrive e-motore will only use alternative ferrites instead of NdFeB permanent magnets. Eg. Tesla 3 features PM(a)SRM engine too - but it uses NeFeB magnets only for permanent magnets.

Neodymium magnets are still best permanent magnets available for mass use but due to featuring neodymium (a very monopolized rare earth ... China controls almost the entire supply chain - it can use that as leverage ... eg by threatening to reduce or stop the supply to some car and other companies) researchers & engineers are looking for alternatives. It seems that disadvantages of using alternative ferries (non-Nd based ones; but not as good ones) instead of Nd-based ferrites can be overcome by special rotor geometry designs. I guess that's what BMW are doing. Further developing i3 e-motor to free it of rare earths.

Also mind BMW got JLR on board for such advanced eDrive units (I guess JLR will use them in its future products; eg new XJ?), also pledging further co-development of these eDrive units (sharing R&D costs, and possibly production costs as well).

Btw, just a reminder: BMW 5th Gen eDrive systems:

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[Cashmere]

^Its funny that BMW showed off these next gen motors over a year ago, yet here we are in 2019 mesmerized by the Mini E's cutting edge motor from the 6 year old i3.

 

[dalab]

‘Vauxhall and Peugeot need to cut their electric car prices to compete with MINI’

Mike Rutherford thinks affordability is fast becoming one of the most important words in the modern car-buying vocabulary
It’s happened, and not before time. The A word – affordability – has risen to the top of the car-buying agenda where it belongs... and must stay.

JLR started an honest conversation on this topic on 5 July. That’s when the Indian-owned, British-based firm correctly acknowledged that its I-Pace may be a brilliant, clever, game-changing product but, when retail prices for it are in £60k-£80k territory (after government subsidies), the fact is that the reigning World Car of the Year is way beyond the reach of the majority of new-car buyers.

With such pure-electric vehicles very much in mind, the company has now declared that “affordability is king”. Halleflippinlujah! Just like connectivity, safety and tailpipe emissions, affordability is one of the most important words in the modern car-buying vocabulary – and rightly so.

Then, last week, BMW announced that the MINI Electric will cost just £24,400, post-subsidy. This makes it around 50 per cent more expensive than the bog-standard petrol-powered MINI One. That sounds like a lot, but it’s a comparatively small premium to pay for a new-tech pure-electric car versus an equivalent old-school pure-petrol car. The VW e-up!, for example, costs approximately 140 per cent more (ouch!) to purchase than the basic petrol version. That’s insane. VW knows this. As do its potential customers who – surprise, surprise – aren’t biting. Why would they?

With BMW (plus Renault, it could be argued) now setting the pure-electric vehicle pricing agenda, VW has no choice but to rapidly make its EVs more affordable. The same goes for others – possibly Jaguar and certainly Vauxhall, whose imminent Corsa-esuddenly looks relatively expensive at £26,430 after subsidy. Not only will the borderline-premium MINI cost less to buy than the Corsa-e, but its impressive future residuals also mean it’ll hold its value far better. If the Vauxhall titch and its eagerly awaitedPeugeot e-208 sister car aren’t closer to £20,000 than the mid-£20k mark originally envisaged, they’ll be left behind by the MINI Electric in the showrooms.

 

[EnI]

^

Now imagine BMW Group putting future MINI (bar Rocketman) and BMW BEVs on highly modular FAAR WE and CLAR WE architectures which also serves as an architecture for all the Group's MHICEVs and PHEVs platforms. Economies of scale right there. Add the sharing development and production costs for the eDrive units and 4-cyl nd 6-cyl engines and Hybrid drivetrains with JLR ... cost cutting galore. But coming after 2021, not sooner.

With such highly modular & highly flexible & highly compatible approach (mind all kinds of vehicles regarding the drive type will be assembled on the same lines, in the same factories! ... no special plants, no special production lines for BEVs!!!) will be able to cut cost to the degree they will be very price competitive while still producing fat profit margins.

But as said ... after 2021. Till then the road will be a bit rocky. But the risk will certainly pay off. This strategy is much more intelligent that the former one (BMW i special CFRP-alu LifeDrive / FSAR platform).

I have a feeling BMW are planning to price iX3 extremely aggressively. Especially the sDrive version for initial offer in USA market (targeting big US markets like California, Texas and Florida mainly ... where AWD is not needed) ... AWD versions will be mainly for Norway and Switzerland etc. For more snowy markets.

 

[dalab]

So far so good, I wonder if these tens of thousands of buyers will be additional or partly cannibalized to the normal cooper

Sunday, August 11, 2019, 8:00 pm
Production start in Oxford, probably right after Brexit:
already tens of thousands of pre-orders for the E-Mini

BMW has already received tens of thousands of pre-orders for the E-Mini, which will be launched in 2020. However, there is a disruptive factor: production start in Oxford is on 1 November - one day after the planned EU exit of the British.

At BMW, tens of thousands of pre-orders have already been received for the E-Mini, which will be launched next year, as the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" reported last week. "So far, we already have over 45,000 registered prospects," said Elena Eder , project manager for the E-Mini, opposite the newspaper.

Although the first battery-electric mini will be officially launched in early 2020, interested parties can already register and secure a copy by paying a deposit. BMW copied this principle from Tesla . "It works," said BMW manager Eder of the "FAS". The E-Mini will sell in significant quantities.

The production in Oxford starts just on November 1 - one day after the planned EU exit of the British on 31 October. " Brexit is a nuisance and whatever happens, we are prepared for any event," Eder told the newspaper. "It does not affect us, in the meantime it has been talked about for so long that we are prepared for all eventualities." (os)

 

[Matski]

"It does not affect us, in the meantime it has been talked about for so long that we are prepared for all eventualities."

Huh... riiiiggggghhhhtttt.....

 

[EnI]

" Brexit is a nuisance and whatever happens, we are prepared for any event," Eder told the newspaper. "It does not affect us, in the meantime it has been talked about for so long that we are prepared for all eventualities." (os).

Wow ... That's some confidence! Boris level of confidence, actually.

I guess BMW will deliver the German parts to the MINI Oxford factory , and UK parts to MINI Nedcar factory in Netherlands by air (planes, helicopters, drones, zeppelins) ... in the case of congestion / delay on roads, rails & ports?

I'm sure they are ready regarding customs procedures - since they already trade with 3rd / non-EU countries.
While tariffs will be politely transferred to the buyers via higher prices. Yay!

 

[dalab]

Shocking demand for Mini’s EV

autocar.co.uk/car-news/confidential/autocar-confidential-volkswagens-rowdy-crowds-minis-sales-success-and-more

Mini has taken 60,000 expressions of interest in its new Electric model, order books for which opened during the show. It’s the first time Mini has run a pre-sales programme and sales are well ahead of where the company expected them to be, according to its boss, Bernd Körber

 

[dalab]

I love reading about my country in things like this (being so small it has significant advances in every way), like that currently 95% of the energy is renewable (hydroelectric and wind), and it is a pleasant surprise this management made by MINI in your choice and Harvard in your recognition

Miami Press Launch of the All-Electric MINI Cooper SE will be CO2-neutral
In January 2020, MINI will organize the official press presentation for its new electric Cooper SE, which was designed to be CO2-neutral.

The entire test car fleet offered at the discretion of journalists will be recharged using solely renewable electric energy sources. What’s more, the inherent emissions that will be expelled in the atmosphere by the arrival and departure of journalists will be offset by the decision of the British brand to purchase environmental certificates. As well, MINI will also offer compensation for all the unavoidable emissions that will be produced in connection with the event.

The proceeds of the green certificates will be used to expand the Peralta wind farm from Uruguay, South America. This sustainable and renewable energy project was selected using high quality standards and has been thus acknowledged as a pioneering project by the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at the prestigious Harvard University. The wind farm comprises no less than 25 wind turbines, which produce enough electricity as to power approximately 50,000 households in the region.

By 2030, Uruguay aims to achieve the status of complete climate neutrality and the expansion of the Peralta wind farm project further paves the way for the success of this daring target. As well, several other environmentally friendly project are being run in the south of Argentina.

bmwblog.com

 

[hovabongZA]

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[dalab]

There are already about 6 or 7 videos published yesterday and there is consensus that it is a great car basically the same as Cooper S with all the advantages of EV, a great achievement, the only issue is autonomy that is not spectacular but enough for what it was created, with prices that can start as low as $ 18,000 in the US will surely be very successful

 

[Serpens]

I'm not expecting big sales here. MINI sales have been trending downwards as it is here and that range is just too little. In addition, it is completely inappropriate to take the $7500 federal tax credit as a deduction from the sales price. The Federal EV Tax Credit is not a rebate on the price of the car that you get instantly when making the purchase. You have to apply to receive it when you file your annual tax return. You or your tax professional will fill out an IRS Form 8936, which is submitted with your return. Since it is a tax credit, you have to wait until you file your next year’s return before you will receive the tax incentive.

Further, to qualify for the full amount available, you must have a federal tax liability in the year you purchase the vehicle that meets or exceeds the incentive amount. If the EV has a $7,500 tax credit available, and you only have a tax liability of $2,500, you can only take a $2,500 vehicle tax credit. Excess credits cannot be carried from year to year. The incentive is a one-time offer. You can only claim the tax credit the year you purchase the EV.

Many people in our country don't realize this.

 

[dalab]

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[dalab]

New colors, firsts road tests in England

What's it like?
On the road, the car is very Mini-like, except that the powertrain noise is almost imperceptible and the car feels especially ‘planted’.

Should I buy one?
In any case, buyers are unlikely to be deterred. The Mini Electric has huge charm, excellent quality and terrific driving characteristics (leaving aside a niggle about a lumpy ride on British back roads) and there is bound to be a strong continuing demand.

George is right: this car’s key role will be to sell the electric ideal to Britons who never previously considered it.

autocar.co.uk/car-review/mini/electric/first-drives/mini-electric-2020-uk-review

autoexpress.co.uk/mini/109215/new-mini-electric-2020-uk-review-pictures

 

[Centurion]

George is right: this car’s key role will be to sell the electric ideal to Britons who never previously considered it.

Not true.

The car will mainly sell to company car owners and the self employed seeking more choices for tax efficient cars.