Mini expects strong demand for first EV

OXFORD -- Mini said it expects strong demand for its first full-electric car, the Mini Electric, as customers increasingly choose battery-powered cars that are emissions free.

"We are entering an era in which electric cars will become a normal choice for our customers," BMW's production chief, Oliver Zipse, said at a press event at Mini's home production plant here.  According to reports, Zipse is the frontrunner to become BMW's new CEO after current boss Harald Krueger said last week that he will step down.

BMW said about 20,000 potential customers have already expressed an interest in the Mini Electric.

The car will have a range of 200 km (124 miles) to 232 km (140 miles) under Europe's WLTP test regime. It uses a 32.6 kilowatt-hour battery pack.

Mini said performance has been prioritized over range. The Mini Electric will accelerate from 0-100 kph (62 mph) in 7.3 seconds. Top speed is limited to 150 kph (93 mph). Maximum power is 184 hp.

The Mini Electric is based on the three-door Mini hatchback. It has the same 211 liters of trunk space as the combustion engine car, rising to 731 liters with the rear seats folded down.

The first electric Mini was built in 2008 on a trial basis. It was a two-seater because of its large battery pack. The Mini Electric seats five.

The Mini Electric weighs 1,365 kg (3009 pounds), which Mini says is 145 kg heavier than the Mini Cooper S three-door combustion engine car with automatic transmission. The center of gravity is 30 mm lower than the combustion engine car, helping with the vehicle dynamics.

The battery pack is fitted into the space vacated by the exhaust pipe and the fuel tank, meaning the body shell and chassis is largely similar to the conventional Mini.

The battery pack is built in BMW’s plant Dingolfing, Germany, using pouch-style lithium ion battery cells supplied by CATL in China. The electric motor is adapted from the one in the BMW i3 and fits under the hood using the same engine mounts as the combustion unit, saving BMW money in development.

The Mini Electric comes with home and public charging cables. It can be recharged to 80 percent capacity in 35 minutes from a 50 kW fast-charging station.

Mini said it has priced the car to be widely affordable, with monthly leasing rates starting at 299 pounds in the UK. Prices to buy the car in the UK will be from 24,400 to 30,400 pounds including a government plug-in car grant. In Germany, the Mini Electric will start at 32,000 euros. Prices for the U.S., where it will be called the Mini Cooper SE, were not disclosed.

Zipse defended the relatively short range of the Mini Electric, saying that giving it a bigger battery to boost range would have made it too expensive.

"It's an urban car and 140 miles is exactly on the sweet spot. There are not so many electric cars in that price range," Zipse said.

The Nissan Leaf with a 40 kWh battery packs starts at 27,995 pounds in the UK including a government incentive.

Production of the Mini Electric will begin late this year at the Oxford plant, with the first deliveries arriving in March next year.

Output of the new Mini could come at about the same time as a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31 if Britain leaves the European Union without an agreement, leading to potential tariffs, additional bureaucracy and disruption to production.

BMW built just over 230,000 cars in Oxford last year, accounting for 15 percent of Britain's total automotive output.

BMW has previously warned that it could move some production of engines and vehicles out of Britain if there is a disorderly Brexit, an option neither Boris Johnson nor Jeremy Hunt, the two candidate vying to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, have ruled out.

The Mini Electric is BMW’s second all-electric car after the BMW i3 city car, which was unveiled in 2013. Disappointing sales for the model meant the electric car buzz stayed around Tesla, whose Model 3, priced from 44,500 euros in Germany, went on sale in Europe in February and can drive as far as 409 km on a single charge.

Automakers are facing the difficult task of developing a costly electric model lineup while demand remains hard to predict. Battery-car sales in Europe rose 48 percent last year, but at just over 200,000 vehicles, they made up a fraction of the 15.6 million new car registrations. The high cost of batteries also makes electric cars far less profitable to manufacture than combustion-engine vehicles.

BMW is planning to have a dozen battery models in its stable by 2023, with an electric version of its X3 SUV up next in 2020. The carmaker is taking a cautious approach to the market by producing the cars at the same plants that make combustion vehicles. This will help it meet tougher regulation on emissions while at the same time allow flexibility to adjust production.

For the moment, electric cars are relatively expensive and some customers are put off by patchy charging infrastructure.

Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report