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Batteries not included: AC Propulsion supplied the motor and power electronics that will be used in the electric Mini. The battery pack is not shown.
AC Propulsion
AC Propulsion's battery pack uses off-the-shelf battery cells of the same type found in laptop-computer battery packs, which Gage says provide the best performance per dollar. A total of 5,088 of these cells have been wired together to store enough energy to power the car for 150 miles. In very rare cases, laptop batteries have been known to overheat and catch fire, a particular danger with the larger packs used in electric cars. Some engineers worry that if one defective cell among the thousands catches fire, it could cause a chain reaction that would destroy the entire pack and might cause injury. To limit that risk, some new battery packs use phosphate-based cells instead of the more common oxide-based cells. Gage would not provide details about the battery cells used in the Mini, saying only that they are "inherently safe." He did, however, say that the company's tests have shown that a chain reaction does not happen if one cell catches fire. BMW adds that the battery pack has passed crash tests.
It's not clear whether BMW will use AC Propulsion's system in future mass-produced electric vehicles. Other automakers are opting for battery cells that are larger than laptop cells, so that they can use hundreds of cells instead of thousands, cutting down on the number of connections inside the pack and improving reliability. Gage says that "companies like us can't afford the time and money for a major battery-development program."
AC Propulsion's manufacturing capacity is also limited. "When we started the discussions [with BMW], we were doing two systems a month, and we thought we could ramp up to 200 a year," Gage says. The company did much better, meeting the requirement of 500 systems by increasing its rate of production to a peak of 60 systems a week. But Gage says that that's a rate he wouldn't want to sustain with the company's current facilities.
The biggest obstacle to mass production may be cost. The electric Mini will be leased for $850 a month, and the company says it already has 9,500 people signed up. Kramer says that millions of people will be willing to spend extra for an environmentally friendly--and fun-to-drive--electric car. But, he says, "it's up to BMW to take great products from AC Propulsion and figure out how to help make them affordable."
The production design is ready, but the electric vehicle's battery needs work.
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The electric Mini will be leased for $850 a month? Are you kidding me? My house payment is less than that. Add the cost of solar cells on top of your garage and an inverter and you are talking a grand a month. The Mini started off as a cheap sports coupe, but a grand a month sounds pretty rich to me.
Startup cost. This will change. And I think this is a far better thread for BMW to pursue than their Hydrogen 7, which was a monster that proved how far away a hydrogen economy is.
For the time being, you'll be able to charge this overnight in your garage using off-peak power and helping out the electric company to better utilize its generating capacity.
You're right. That is a bit ridiculous considering that you can get Honda's FCX Clarity fuel cell car for 600/month.
AND it's a 3 year lease.
Honda have said that their FCX leases don't come close to covering the costs of the actual vehicles so I suspect the FCX is still a lot more expensive than an electric Mini. The programme isn't there to make money but to provide real-world testing.
All these costs don't really reflect the final purchase price of a mass produced version so don't take them too seriously. I suspect that AC Propulsion hand-make much of their controllers - clearly not a high-volume production line - and have prices to match.
I think BMW are very smart to put out a car quickly from good off-the-shelf components. Whether they would continue to use these in production cars or get a different supplier or their own design is another question.
Fuel cells currently cost multiple thousand $ per kW. Even an 8500 USD per month lease wouldn't cover a medium power vehicle, not even for just the fuel cell, excluding the car.
Hydrogen is at best far away, and far more likely a total boondoggle. Even the most optimistic fuel cell stack costs are a large factor above what automakers would consider a reasonably priced engine.
It will be interesting to see if they can lease all these vehicles at 850/month. I suspect they will given the staggering amount of rich Californians. But it's a shame that EV enthusiasts won't be a able to ahold of one, I suspect.
Props to AC propulsion on this victory.
Having rode in a tzero prototype, I venture to say this mini has some balls.
At this time when hybrids, and other low emissions vehicles are or have received tax brakes, who or how are the federal or state highway taxes going to be paid? Also at what time will the cost of disposal of the batteries at the end of this type of transportation life, whose paying for that? And at what point in time is the cost of infrastructure going to added in to the environmental cost?
Yes there is a need and place for this type of transportation but are we overlooking what the true cost and impact is going to be.
Hey BMW, get your "GOOD" cars over here now!
I recently drove a BMW in Spain, and WOW!! What great MPG! However, those albeit "Diesel" cars with their proprietary start-stop technology among other hybrid tweaks, are not exported to the states. I refuse to buy a BMW until this technology is available here on their cars made for the USA. The Ford Fusion Hybrid uses this type of technology to my knowledge. While sitting at a red light, the air is powered by the battery system, and zero emissions, like the Prius! But hey, these are not BMW's...
We need a concerted effort to share technology and roll out a global effort to improve MPG while work is done on an infrastructure that will allow for smart charging with solar based charging as one alternative.
Gee, who knew that a technology already exists that blows away everything on sale in the states, and is used everyday in Europe!! We are talking about a luxury sports car, with real driving characteristics, not a golf cart. Check out BMW's website and take a look (over 50mpg on some models). Last, why do continue to make cars whose ice's have to run at a red light? Insane, man, insane...
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mkogrady
425 Comments
Great approach with momentum
The Mini Coop has a great following already, and an electric version may just surpass the Prius, while the Volt languishes in obscurity.
German Ingenuity and a US powertrain? Beats the Daimler-Chrysler model by a long shot. Make it a convertable, and those fun loving Californians will take out a second mortgage in a heartbeat to be eco-friendly! Parks easy I suspect, but how will it handle those hills and stop and go traffic on a hot dry Santa Ana day?
Time will tell, but if it's cheaper than $40,000 like the Volt, GM is in trouble - again.
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