BMW’s Electric Mini Rollout Yields ‘Painful’ Lessons (Update2)

[Bruce Nunnally]

Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- When Bayerische Motoren Werke AG introduced the Mini Cooper E this year in California and the New York area, first-time users of the electric car deluged the company with complaints about its deficiencies.

Customers groused about uninformed dealers, connection problems, cold weather affecting recharging and a range limited to 100 miles. The back seat was taken up by the battery and recharging could take almost a day.

“We are getting a lot of feedback,” Richard Steinberg, manager of electric vehicle operations and strategy for Munich- based BMW, said yesterday at the Bloomberg LP Cars & Fuels conference in Los Angeles. “We’ve had a fair share of lessons learned.”

California’s anti-pollution regulations are among the strictest in the U.S. Some car bloggers and reviewers criticize BMW for selling an inadequate Mini E to meet state rules requiring automakers to sell a quota of electric or other alternative-fuel vehicles.

“A not-entirely-civil war of words has erupted on blogs and Facebook between BMW and those who’d volunteered to pay $850 a month for the privilege of leasing a Mini E,” wrote Dan Neil, the Los Angeles Times’ automobile critic.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...id=aeQwon7TV3Fo

[WarrenJ]

The all electric vehicle is a no-go from the get-go.

There is not a country on the planet that has the electrical generation capacity to recharge a significant fleet.

Regards,

Warren