MINI E gets Government green light for UK trial

BMW Group-led consortium is a winner in Technology Strategy Board £25m Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator competition

The British government body that exists to promote business innovation in technology announced yesterday that a consortium led by BMW Group will be supported by a proportion of a £25m fund, enabling the MINI E to be introduced and tested on British roads by a mixture of private, corporate and public sector drivers before the end of 2009.

BMW Group’s successful application to the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board followed an invitation for proposals outlining innovative, industry-led collaborative research projects involving ultra-low carbon vehicles. The objective of the Technology Strategy Board is to encourage manufacturers to develop ultra-low carbon vehicles that customers want to buy and bring them to market as rapidly as possible.

MINI E models will be on UK roads for a twelve-month field trial that will evaluate the technical and social aspects of living with an all-electric vehicle in a real world environment. This year-long project will play an important part in informing future strategic and technological decisions.

BMW Group is bringing together an energy infrastructure provider and an academic partner, with the support of a regional development agency and local authorities, to make the MINI E research project a reality in the UK.

MINI E Joins Government announcement

April 16 2009, Ian Robertson, Sales and Marketing Director of BMW Group AG, today joined Business Secretary Peter Mandelson and Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon in Scotland as they launched the Government’s vision for ultra-low carbon transport in the UK.

Both ministers drove a MINI E electric car at the event as they announced plans to support motorists by providing help worth £2000-£5000 towards buying their first electric or plug-in hybrid car when they hit the showrooms.

BMW Group has announced that MINI E will go on a twelve-month field trial in Germany and the USA this year, to evaluate the technical and social aspects of living with an all-electric vehicle in a real world environment and plans to include the UK in this programme... Ian Robertson said, “We believe the MINI E is an excellent vehicle for trialling this alternative form of sustainable mobility. And what better time to do this than in the year we celebrate the 50th birthday of MINI. We look forward to extending our German and American trials to the UK.

To see more on this story and a video on the launch of the MINI E please visit our website at www.britishminiclub.co.uk

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MINIVERSITY graduate awarded first-class honours at What Car? Green Awards 2008

MINI Cooper S is What Car?’s Green Sports Car. We all know the new Cooper S is one of the most exciting cars to drive on the road but now it has gone one better and won a very important award

The MINI Cooper S has been singled out for praise by What Car? and taken the Green Sports Car award in the What Car? Green Awards ceremony at the 2008 British International Motor Show, where the MINI range is currently showing on a MINIVERSITY-themed stand.

The award is recognition of MINI’s commitment to manufacturing frugal and fast premium small cars, with minimal cost to the environment.

The MINI Cooper S embodies all of those qualities and when pitched against the competition, it’s easy to see how What Car? made its decision.

The systems that make astonishing fuel consumption (45.6 mpg on combined cycle) and low CO2 emission (149 g/km) figures possible from a hot hatch are known as MINIMALISM technologies. MINIMALISM is MINI’s version of BMW’s EfficientDynamics and the range of systems includes:

• Auto Start/Stop
• Shift Point Display
• Brake Energy Regeneration
• Variable Valve Timing
• Lightweight materials
• Turbocharging
• Electro mechanical Power Assisted Steering

Steve Fowler, editor of What Car? said: ‘The MINI Cooper S proves that fun doesn’t have to go out of the window if you want to be green. We love the way the clever MINIMALISM technology works to cut damaging emissions without damaging driver enjoyment.’