Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd
BMW has unveiled the first widely available all-electric Mini Cooper. Coming in early 2020, the car will start at around $35,000 and travel 235 kilometers (146 miles) per charge. Compared to similarly priced EVs on the road now with more than 200 miles of range, like the Kona Electric or the Tesla Model 3, the Mini’s mileage figure looks paltry. It will only look worse next year as more capable electric cars hit the road, and the Mini gets a more realistic EPA mileage rating. It’s a curious thing to see from a company that was early to electric cars, and it helps explain why BMW’s CEO Harald Krueger resigned last week.
Krueger was BMW’s CEO for four years, coming in not long after the company’s i3 electric crossover SUV hit the market. But in a message to employees on his way out the door last week, he reportedly cited the “enormous changes” happening in the auto industry as a reason for leaving. BMW, it seems, fell behind the curve on Krueger’s watch.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/9/20687413/bmw-electric-mini-cooper-specs-release
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 11 2019, @01:46PM
> If they did the car right it should outperform the gas model handily so maybe "Coooper" is appropriate.
If you limit the measurement of performance to 0-60mph (or 100kph) times than I agree. If you consider something more comprehensive, like winning the Monte Carlo Rally, then you are far off mark--the time-to-charge would easily cause a battery electric to fail in a competition like this:
https://www.sportscardigest.com/small-car-huge-win-1964-monte-carlo-rallye-profile/ [sportscardigest.com]