It is the most in-depth trial of its kind – and now BMW has released data from the MINI E testing across theUKthat involved 62 members of the public and 76 pool users.
A vast amount of data was collected as part of the trial with the early results already being used to influence the development of the 2011 BMW ActiveE car and the BMW i3, which will be the first purpose-built electric vehicle from the BMW Group when it is launched in 2013.
According to the results of the trial, everyday use of the electric MINI cars didn’t radically differ from typical driving patterns. Indeed daily journey distance in the MINI E was 29.7miles – up slightly from the 26.5miles recorded by the control cars, a mix of MINI Coopers and BMW 116i models and the UK average daily distance driven, which is less than 25miles. Information gathered by on-board data loggers showed the average single trip distance was 9.5miles – up from theUKaverage of seven miles.
In addition, four out of five people reported that 80 per cent of their trips could be done exclusively in the MINI E – and this increased to 90 per cent who thought all their trips could be done in the car if it had rear seats and a larger boot.
However, 84 per cent did say that severe low temperatures during both phases of the field trial affected the distance that could be driven between charges; although four out of five still felt the MINI E was suitable for winter use.
With a daily driven distance of just under 30miles, most drivers felt confident enough not to charge their MINI E every night; and nine out of 10 told researchers that the charging actually suited their daily routine. Most charged at home with 82 per cent using their wall-mounted chargingbox 90per centof the time. The lack of public charging infrastructure was noted, however, with four out of five believing it is “essential” that a network of charging points is established.
Perhaps most notably, 96 per cent of participants said they would consider buying an electric car as a result of taking part – and 51 per cent would even pay a third more for an electric vehicle.
