Diamond Bar, Glendora, Azusa and West Covina cities get electric BMW Mini E

An E-ticket ride will soon be rolling through four San Gabriel Valley cities.

Diamond Bar, Glendora, Azusa and West Covina were chosen to participate in BMW's pilot program for its first all-electric vehicle, the Mini E.

Each of the municipalities received two of the 200-horsepower Mini Cooper look-alikes at just $10 a month for each. Only 450 of the two-seaters were produced.

At the end of the one-year lease, participants will provide feedback to BMW. It is expected that an all-electric vehicle will be mass produced by 2012.

The study is being conducted in the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, New York and New Jersey. Non-municipal lessees will have to dish out $850 a month for the all-electric vehicles, which can travel up to 150 miles on one battery charge and reach a top speed of 95 mph.

2009 BMW Mini E launched at LA auto show

The two-seater 2009 BMW Mini E is BMW’s first electric production model. BMW will build 500 units of the 2009 BMW Mini E’s to start with; these will be leased to private and corporate customers in Los Angeles, New York, and New Jersey, for $850 a month. The pilot leasing program will end after one year, for further research before BMW builds the 2009 BMW Mini E for mass production. You can read our earlier story on the BMW Electric Mini here

In terms of design, the 2009 BMW Mini E is like the BMW Mini Cooper except for a new color scheme. The 2009 BMW Mini E’s body is metallic Dark Silver in color with the roof in Pure Silver. The 2009 BMW Mini E bears a new logo in Interchange Yellow that is styled to depict a power plug. The logo can be found on the dashboard trim, the roof, and the door jamb. A smaller logo has placed in the front and back of the car.

Photo: BMW Mini E front view

The other modification is that the rear seats have been removed to accommodate the 260 kg-battery units rather neatly.

BMW’s 2009 Mini E comes with a a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that will transmit current to the 150 kW (204 hp) electric motor. Power is passed on to the front wheels through a single-stage helical gearbox.

Photo: 2009 BMW Mini E rear view

The lithium-ion battery storage unit can store up to 35 kwh. The battery can be plugged into standard power sockets. BMW will provide a wall box that customers can install on their garage walls to charge the battery. The wall box takes only two - two and a half hour to fully charge the battery. That is because the wall box gives greater amperage compared to standard power outlets.

BMW has said that the battery has a range of over 250 kms or 156 miles.
The 2009 BMW Mini E can go up to 100 kmph (62 mph) in 8.5 seconds to a limited top speed of 152kmph. The peak torque of the 2009 BMW Mini E is 220 Newton meters

2009 BMW Mini E interior photo

The battery level indicator, that replaces the tachometer, behind the steering wheel of the 2009 BMW Mini E, shows the current battery level in percentage. The central gauge has an LED display that shows the amount of power consumed in red, and power charged in green.

2009 BMW Mini E top view

2009 BMW Mini E launched at LA auto show

BMW has launched the electric Mini Cooper, the 2009 BMW Mini E, at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The two-seater 2009 BMW Mini E is BMW’s first electric production model. BMW will build 500 units of the 2009 BMW Mini E’s to start with; these will be leased to private and corporate customers in Los Angeles, New York, and New Jersey, for $850 a month. The pilot leasing program will end after one year, for further research before BMW builds the 2009 BMW Mini E for mass production. You can read our earlier story on the BMW Electric Mini here

In terms of design, the 2009 BMW Mini E is like the BMW Mini Cooper except for a new color scheme. The 2009 BMW Mini E’s body is metallic Dark Silver in color with the roof in Pure Silver. The 2009 BMW Mini E bears a new logo in Interchange Yellow that is styled to depict a power plug. The logo can be found on the dashboard trim, the roof, and the door jamb. A smaller logo has placed in the front and back of the car.

Photo: BMW Mini E front view

The other modification is that the rear seats have been removed to accommodate the 260 kg-battery units rather neatly.

BMW’s 2009 Mini E comes with a a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that will transmit current to the 150 kW (204 hp) electric motor. Power is passed on to the front wheels through a single-stage helical gearbox.

Photo: 2009 BMW Mini E rear view

The lithium-ion battery storage unit can store up to 35 kwh. The battery can be plugged into standard power sockets. BMW will provide a wall box that customers can install on their garage walls to charge the battery. The wall box takes only two - two and a half hour to fully charge the battery. That is because the wall box gives greater amperage compared to standard power outlets.

BMW has said that the battery has a range of over 250 kms or 156 miles.
The 2009 BMW Mini E can go up to 100 kmph (62 mph) in 8.5 seconds to a limited top speed of 152kmph. The peak torque of the 2009 BMW Mini E is 220 Newton meters

2009 BMW Mini E interior photo

The battery level indicator, that replaces the tachometer, behind the steering wheel of the 2009 BMW Mini E, shows the current battery level in percentage. The central gauge has an LED display that shows the amount of power consumed in red, and power charged in green.