Electric Mini E's Land in Britain

In brief: With the U.S. trials of the Mini E electric cars from BMW already well underway, a new set of 40 Mini Es have landed in the UK for trials there.

Vehicle in the news

Make/Model: Mini Cooper E
Manufacturer: BMW

The word

There are currently 500 examples of the Mini E on the roads of the United States, under lease for a year. They're about halfway through their trials and now BMW is going to the United Kingdom.

Starting in Oxford, about 40 Mini E cars will be distributed to 40 lucky leasers for six months. After that time is up, the cars will be recalled and send to another forty testers.

While the U.S. test is focused on both how the vehicle performs in real use and how drivers react to it, the British test will do the same, but in an environment where other electric cars are already relatively commonplace. Most notably the G-Wiz, which is popular in the London area.

And so ...

Despite the popularity of the Mini, BMW made it clear earlier this year that the electric Mini would never see full production.

Photo credits: BMW

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