The electric vehicle offensive of BMW has been pretty quiet with very little action coming from the premium automaker. That is of course until today's announcement which stated they will create 500 electric versions of the Mini which will all be exported to California. 490 of them will be leased to selected customers with the remaining 10 set to be saved for display purposes.
The electric Minis will be built at the Mini Factory in Oxford ,UK, but these special models which will featured a silver livery and yellow roof will be starved of an engine, gearboxes or fuel tanks. They will then be shipped over to Germany where BMW will equip the models with an electric powertrain, before making the long journey across the pond to California. This will help keep BMW in check with the Golden State's strict emission guidelines that will requires that automakers offer zero emission vehicles.
The success of the project could then lead to a mass production of the vehicle, sources state BMW are likely to make an official announcement later this year.
stillthewhizz
July 11, 2008 12:17 AM
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