Want to see electric MINIs in your state? Sign the petition.
Want an electric MINI? Click above to sign the petition online.
Awesome! BMW will be converting MINI's from gas to electric drive! Oh, wait... the vehicles sill be sold only in California? And the number is capped at five-hundred regardless of how many people actually want one? Yes, and that is not awesome. For this reason, a man by the name of Mike S. has created an online petition begging BMW to offer more of them for sale at a price of $35K or less. A worthwhile goal for sure, though one we can't imagine actually happening as a result of the support of a few hundred EV devotees.
So far, there are nearly one-hundred-fifty signatures, with many of the signers suggesting that they would purchase them if available. Honestly, this kind of thing happens regularly, and many of those who say they will make the purchase simply don't for any number of reasons. Still, the idea of a small electric vehicle backed by A BMW warranty and service department is a very exciting prospect. Maybe it's worth a signature after all. Thanks for the tip, Mike!
[Source: iPetitions.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
why not the LS2LS7? 4:28PM (7/11/2008)
You're making a petition to ask BMW to sell cars to you at a loss. Good luck with that. There's a reason these 500 cars are leased.
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Phil L. 4:33PM (7/11/2008)
I appreciate the sentiment, but it's pointless petition.
BMW is (apparently) only offering them for lease. The reality is that they likely can't build them for a price anywhere near $35K.
I don't know what the equivalent sales price would be for the lease payment, but I suspect it will need to be subsidized by BMW. They'll want to limit their risk exposure and service/maintenance investment - so they're only offering a small number it in a specific locale where they can get the most publicity bang for the buck. Ergo: California.
The rest of us can only hope this experiment is successful and will lead to affordable technology that will be widely sold.
Someday. We're still waiting and hoping!
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jake 5:25PM (7/11/2008)
With the iMIEV unsubsidized sale price at $38k and the base i starting at $12k (a $26k premium) an electric MINI (with a normal one starting at $18k) would probably sell at around $44k unsubsidized for around the same range (100 miles on the Japanese cycle but probably more like 60 miles normally) and power (63 hp), so the pricing while higher than $35k isn't too bad (of course with a low volume of 500 vehicles probably the price would be higher for the MINIs since Mitsubishi intends to sell 2k iMIEVs in 2010 and 10k units in 2011, japanese market) .
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/07/report-mitsubis.html
But as you mentioned, having it for lease just gives BMW more safety. If things don't work out they can always crush them :P. BMW also is unlikely to sell them at a loss, since I would bet there are people willing to buy them at actual price.
Ben 6:11PM (7/11/2008)
Hmm... Toyota sold the Prius at a real loss because of the net gain their entire line received. GM sunk a boatload of money for several decades into hydrogen research and the PR did not benefit them at (period) all (period) so far as the general public. BMW SELLING the mini electric won't hurt them at all - especially if they are the first ones really available to the public. Yeah... I'll sign the petition And I'd put my money where my mouth is with a downpayment in the next 3 months if they can tell me it travels at highway speeds and has at least a 100 mile range between charges. (and it costs $35k or less)
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why not the LS2LS7? 8:38PM (7/11/2008)
Right, you tell the bean counters that it's a great idea to take losses. See how far you get.
No matter how small the loss is, not selling them at all loses even less.
BTW, I and my friends took a poll and we decided that you (Ben) wouldn't really be hurt by losing $250, because it just isn't that much money. So we're telling you to do so. Please remit it to me via PayPal.
tankd0g 6:49PM (7/11/2008)
You WANT to lease these things. Li-ion battery packs are NOT getting any cheaper, the cost of metals just keeps climbing. By the time this car needs a replacement, you want to be as far from it as possible.
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Andy 10:39PM (7/11/2008)
I don't think these are being leased because they are too expensive to make. It's more likely because they want to avoid warranty or other liability issues with this trial.
They are doing a retrofit on an existing platform. The technology is available and engineering overheads are low. They wouldn’t want to market an unrefined product widely and risk their brand reputation.
I think folks are shooting off mark with their cost estimates. There is a strong incentive for manufacturers to lay smoke screens on product costs. You would be shocked if you knew the ex-factory cost of a Mini glider.
Electric drive trains are lower cost than ICE drive trains of the same performance and production volume. They will get even cheaper with standardization. Maintenance costs for the vehicle owner are much lower with electrics. But, there is less aftermarket revenue for the manufacturer.
I'm concerned too many people still don't understand the value proposition of a battery.... It displaces gasoline use. The cost of the battery has to be calculated along these lines:
Battery cost + electricity cost - gasoline cost.
I don't want to do math here. You can choose the time period for your calculations based on the battery life and failure risk. Accounting method is your choice.
Anyhow, Chinese manufacturers already sell LiFePO batteries to EV enthusiasts RETAIL for less than $500 /KWh. These are early adopters who are generally less price sensitive ..... The raw materials can't be so expensive can they? 25 KWh is plenty battery for most users.
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retro77 1:22PM (7/17/2008)
signed
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